The NATO summit will start on the evening of April 2nd with a restricted dinner followed by the North Atlantic Council, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council and the ISAF Meting on April 3rd, while the last day, April 4th will be dedicated to the NATO-Ukraine and NATO-Russia Councils. Mr. Victor Micula, Secretary of State with the Ministry of Foreign Affaires, stated today that officials from the 26 member states and 23 partner states will be present together with representatives of important institutions and organisations such as the EU, the UN and the World Bank. As a whole, there will be around 3,000 delegates and 3,500 journalists, said Mr. Victor Micula, adding that 24 Heads of States, 26 Prime Ministers and 87 officials having a minister’s rank have confirmed their attendance. The final declaration of the NATO summit in Bucharest may include a paragraph on the missile defence of Europe. The deputy secretary general of the Alliance, Mr. Claudio Bisogniero stated in exclusivity for Radio Romania that a report on the menace of ballistic missiles is actually being drafted in Brussels, at this moment, and will be presented to the NATO Heads of States and Governments.
Reporter: Carmen Gavrila – Is there any chance that at least one statement on the NATO missile shield could be adopted during the Bucharest summit, as a complement to the American one?
Claudio Bisognero: We are intensively working on this topic and we expect some progress until the summit in Bucharest. Until then, I believe that the menace represented by ballistic missiles will be officially recognised, the importance of the American shield for the protection of Europe will be re-confirmed and the need of a protection secured by NATO against the menace of ballistic missiles will be accepted. I should mention nevertheless that no decision has been taken yet in this matter so this is what we are going to talk about in Bucharest, while defining our choices in the field of the antiballistic missiles defence. A decision on these choices should be taken in the future, probably at the next NATO summit in 2009.
Reporter: So, there will be an official document mentioning the defence against ballistic weapons?
Claudio Bisognero: Yes, we are currently working in Brussels on a report on ballistic missiles that will be presented to NATO Heads of States and Governments and I think that the final declaration of the summit will include a paragraph on the antimissile defence.
Reporter: Romania is one of the countries making pressures for the discussion of the Treaty on non conventional armed forces in Europe during the summit.
Claudio Bisognero: The treaty is not a topic directly approached by NATO, it is discussed in various situations. Yet we would like to see progress in this field and we regret Russia’s decision to suspend the enforcement of the ratified treaty and we call to a quick ratification by the participant countries. So, although it is not a real topic of the summit, we expect progress, especially since we organise the NATO-Russia Council in Bucharest, within the summit, in the presence of President Putin. We will discuss about what we agree on and what we disagree on during the Council, including about the Treaty, the antimissile system, Kosovo and NATO enlargement. But we also share good things with Russia, I would mention Russia’s participation together with NATO to the Active Endeavour operation, the joint anti-drug operations training centre in Russia including Afghanistan, and I would also add that we are currently negotiating some transit agreements with Russia for NATO troops and equipments on their way to Afghanistan.
(Source: Radio Romania Actualitati)
