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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3693
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RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
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RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 0740
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 0884
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RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 USNATO 000569 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/RPM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL NATO MOPS MARR MCAP MASS AF KV MW BK
SR, UP, GG, MK, RS, XG, XF 
SUBJECT: FINAL STATEMENT OF THE NATO FOREIGN MINISTERIAL 
HELD ON DECEMBER 3-4 
 
USNATO 00000569  001.2 OF 005 
 
 
¶1. (U) NATO Foreign Ministers issued the following statement 
following statement at the conclusion of their December 3-4 
meeting in Brussels: 
 
BEGIN TEXT 
 
Meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of Foreign 
Ministers held at NATO Headquarters, Brussels, on 4 December 
2009 
 
¶1.  We, the Foreign Ministers of the member countries of the 
Alliance, recalled the historic events that took place in 
Europe in 1989 and the tremendous progress made since then 
towards a Europe united, peaceful and free.  The Alliance's 
broad agenda contributes in many significant ways to 
defending and promoting security and stability in the Euro 
Atlantic area and beyond.  Having reconfirmed our previous 
decisions and positions on the full range of Alliance issues, 
we have on this occasion focused on Afghanistan, Open Door 
issues, NATO's relations with Russia, missile defence, and 
our new Strategic Concept. 
 
¶2.  We pay tribute to the professionalism and dedication of 
the men and women from Allied and other nations who are 
serving in NATO's missions and operations.  We extend our 
deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of the 
fallen and the injured. 
 
¶3.  Our UN mandated Afghanistan mission (ISAF) remains NATO's 
key priority, and we have issued with our ISAF partners a 
separate statement reinforcing our commitment to it.  Our 
KFOR mission in Kosovo, on the basis of United Nations 
Security Council Resolution 1244, is making a gradual, 
conditions based transition to a deterrent posture, which we 
will keep under political review. 
 
¶4.  In accordance with Article 10 of the Washington Treaty, 
NATO's door will remain open to all European democracies 
which share the values of our Alliance, which are willing and 
able to assume the responsibilities and obligations of 
membership, and whose inclusion can contribute to common 
security and stability. 
 
¶5.  We believe that Euro Atlantic integration remains the 
most effective way to bring lasting stability and prosperity 
to the strategically important Western Balkans. 
 
¶6.  We remain committed to seeing the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia (footnote 1) seated at our table as a 
member of the Alliance.  An invitation to start accession 
talks will be extended as soon as a mutually acceptable 
solution to the name issue has been reached. 
 
¶7.  Montenegro has made substantial progress in reform, and 
continues to contribute actively to security in the region. 
On that basis, we are pleased today to invite Montenegro to 
move towards NATO membership by joining the Membership Action 
Plan (MAP).  We will continue, through the MAP, to support 
Montenegro's reforms. 
 
USNATO 00000569  002.2 OF 005 
 
 
 
¶8.  Bosnia and Herzegovina has made substantial progress in 
cooperation with NATO and we welcome its MAP application and 
the broad national consensus behind it.  We urge Bosnia and 
Herzegovina's political leaders to continue to work together 
to pursue national integration and improve the efficiency and 
self reliance of state level institutions.  We also urge 
Bosnia and Herzegovina to take full advantage of ongoing 
cooperation with NATO including through its Intensified 
Dialogue and its current Individual Partnership Action Plan 
(IPAP) cycle, in the areas of political, defence, security, 
military, public information and resource issues.  We affirm 
our support for Bosnia and Herzegovina's participation in MAP 
and its aspiration for NATO membership.  We have decided that 
Bosnia and Herzegovina will join MAP once it achieves the 
necessary progress in its reform efforts.  We task the 
Council in Permanent Session to keep Bosnia and Herzegovina's 
progress on reform under active review.  Allies will continue 
to support Bosnia and Herzegovina's reforms. 
 
¶9.  We welcome recent steps by Serbia to enhance its 
cooperation with the Alliance.  In accordance with our vision 
for the region, the Alliance will continue to be open to the 
fullest possible political dialogue and practical cooperation 
with Serbia.  We acknowledge significant progress in Serbia's 
cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the 
former Yugoslavia (ICTY).  We expect Serbia to maintain its 
efforts in cooperating with ICTY in order to achieve 
additional positive results, the most critical issue being 
the apprehension of the remaining fugitives. 
 
¶10.  At their Summit in Strasbourg/Kehl, our Heads of State 
and Government reaffirmed their decision that Georgia and 
Ukraine will become members of NATO; that commitment remains 
firm.  They also noted that, without prejudice to further 
decisions that must be taken about MAP, the development of 
Annual National Programmes will help Georgia and Ukraine in 
advancing their reforms.  We commend both countries on the 
finalisation of their first Annual National Programmes and 
the start of their implementation, recognising their efforts 
in this regard.  We are maximising our advice, assistance and 
support for their reform efforts in the framework of the NATO 
Ukraine Commission and NATO Georgia Commission, which play a 
central role in supervising the process set in hand at the 
Bucharest Summit. 
 
¶11.  We reaffirm that NATO's partnerships are an essential 
part of the Alliance's purposes and tasks, and are of key 
value to strengthen our joint commitment to cooperative 
security.  In preparing for the Lisbon Summit, Allies intend, 
in consultation with partners, to work towards enhancing our 
partnership policy, while preserving the specificity of each 
partnership. (footnote 2) 
 
¶12.  The NATO Russia partnership has the potential to 
contribute strategically to security in the Euro Atlantic 
area and beyond.  Allies welcome today's formal resumption, 
at Ministerial level, of dialogue and cooperation with 
Russia.  We remain committed to taking the NATO Russia 
 
USNATO 00000569  003.2 OF 005 
 
 
Council forward to make it a more efficient and valuable 
instrument for political dialogue on all issues of common 
interest and concern, including those where NATO and Russia 
disagree, and for improved practical cooperation.  There are 
many priority areas for enhancing our practical cooperation, 
including Afghanistan, counter narcotics, the fight against 
terrorism, counter piracy, missile defence, and non 
proliferation, arms control and disarmament.  We have agreed 
to conduct with Russia a joint review of NATO and Russia's 
21st century common security challenges.  We recall the 
commitment of NATO and Allies at the Strasbourg/Kehl Summit 
to be open to dialogue on a broad, cooperative approach to 
Euro Atlantic security.  We welcome, in this context, the 
decision taken at the December 2009 OSCE Ministerial meeting 
in Athens to continue work in the Corfu Process.  Allies are 
prepared to engage actively in this process in the OSCE. 
 
¶13.  NATO Russia relations depend on trust and fulfilment of 
commitments.  In contributing to building that trust we will 
continue to be transparent about our military training and 
exercises and look to Russia to reciprocate.  We reaffirm the 
OSCE principles on which the security of Europe is based, and 
reiterate our continued support for the territorial integrity 
and sovereignty of Georgia within its internationally 
recognised borders.  We continue to call on Russia to reverse 
its recognition of the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions of 
Georgia as "independent states".  We encourage all 
participants in the Geneva talks to play a constructive role 
as well as to continue working closely with the OSCE, the 
United Nations and the European Union to pursue peaceful 
conflict resolution on Georgia's territory.  We urge Russia 
to meet its commitments with respect to Georgia, as mediated 
by the European Union on 12 August (footnote 3) and 8 
September 2008.  The Alliance will continue to assess 
developments in relations with Russia.  We reaffirm the 
Alliance's continued commitment as contained in the 
Strasbourg/Kehl Summit Declaration to the CFE Treaty Regime 
with all its elements.  We are prepared for intensified 
efforts in cooperation with Russia in 2010 to find a way 
forward on the basis of the Parallel Actions Package.  NATO 
CFE Allies will continue to provide their annual information 
exchange this year, and we call upon Russia to do the same. 
However, not taking this opportunity could make it difficult 
for us to provide information to Russia in the future. 
 
¶14.  The proliferation of ballistic missiles poses an 
increasing threat to Allies' populations, territory and 
forces.  Given the central importance of the Alliance's 
collective defence mission to ensure our security and protect 
our populations, territory and forces against the threat of 
armed attack, including from ballistic missiles, missile 
defence plays an important role for the Alliance as part of a 
broader response to counter ballistic missile threats.  We 
welcome the new phased adaptive approach of the United States 
to missile defence, which further reinforces NATO's central 
role in missile defence in Europe.  This approach would 
further anchor European missile defence work in NATO, which 
continues to bear in mind the principle of the indivisibility 
of Alliance security as well as NATO solidarity. 
 
USNATO 00000569  004.2 OF 005 
 
 
 
¶15.  NATO's current Theatre Missile Defence programme 
(ALTBMD) will facilitate the integration of missile defence 
elements from nations in order to protect deployed troops. 
Heads of State and Government, at their last Summit, tasked 
the Council in Permanent Session to identify and undertake 
the policy, military and technical work related to a possible 
expanded role of the Theatre Missile Defence programme beyond 
the protection of NATO deployed forces to include territorial 
missile defence.  Such a role would be a key milestone 
towards providing territorial missile defence in Europe. 
 
¶16.  Heads of State and Government, at their last Summit, 
tasked the Council in Permanent Session, taking into account 
the Bucharest Summit tasking, to present recommendations 
comprising architecture alternatives for consideration at the 
next Summit; these should draw upon the work already done and 
the United States' phased adaptive approach.  If the Alliance 
decides to develop a NATO missile defence capability in 
Europe to protect populations and territory, the United 
States' phased adaptive approach would provide a valuable 
national contribution to that capability and, thus, to 
Alliance security. 
 
¶17.  We continue to support increased cooperation between 
NATO and Russia on missile defence including maximum 
transparency and reciprocal confidence building measures.  We 
reaffirm the Alliance's readiness to explore the potential 
for linking United States, NATO and Russian missile defence 
systems at an appropriate time.  The United States' new 
approach provides enhanced possibilities to do this. 
 
¶18.  We have noted the reports on Raising NATO's Profile in 
the Field of Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation; 
on the Action Plan on Proposals to Develop and Implement 
NATO's Contribution to a Comprehensive Approach; and on 
Progress Achieved in the Implementation of NATO's Role in 
Energy Security.  We task the Council in Permanent Session to 
continue its work on these important topics. 
 
¶19.  We are committed to renewing our Alliance to better 
address today's threats and to anticipate tomorrow's risks. 
At their Strasbourg/Kehl Summit, our Heads of State and 
Government tasked the Secretary General to develop a new 
Strategic Concept and submit proposals for its implementation 
for approval at the next Summit, keeping the Council in 
Permanent Session involved throughout the process.  We have 
discussed the preliminary work of the Group of Experts which 
is helping to lay the ground for the Alliance's new Strategic 
Concept.  This work has so far covered the changing 
international security environment; NATO's fundamental tasks; 
relations with other nations and organisations; and internal 
reform.  We thank the Group for the work it has done until 
now, and encourage its continued close consultations with all 
Allies.  We look forward to discussing the Group's findings 
at our informal meeting next April in Tallinn.  We encourage 
all our partners to continue to present their views on our 
new Strategic Concept during its elaboration.  The new 
Strategic Concept will play an important role in guiding and 
 
USNATO 00000569  005.2 OF 005 
 
 
shaping a 21st century Alliance to face existing and emerging 
threats and challenges, while maintaining strong collective 
defence. 
 
¶20.  The Alliance's new Strategic Concept will also provide 
general guidance on NATO reform.  Reform is an ongoing 
process aimed at preserving and improving NATO's ability to 
conduct its full spectrum of missions.  Reform should also 
enhance performance and optimise the use of resources by 
creating a lean, more effective organisation, while 
respecting that NATO is a consensus based organisation.  We 
welcome the progress already made in reforming NATO 
Headquarters on the basis of the decisions taken at the 
Strasbourg/Kehl Summit.  The Council in Permanent Session has 
been mandated to take the necessary decisions to implement 
these reforms as quickly as possible.  We look forward to a 
preliminary report at our Tallinn meeting.  A report on 
implementation will be reviewed at the Lisbon Summit. 
 
-- footnote 1: Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia 
with its constitutional name. 
 
-- footnote 2: Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council 
(EAPC)/Partnership for Peace (PfP) Partners, Mediterranean 
Dialogue (MD), Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) and 
other partners across the globe. 
 
-- footnote 3: As complemented by President Sarkozy's 
clarifications and correspondence on this issue. 
 
END TEXT 
 
¶2. (U) COMMENT: In a break from the past, Allies -- at the 
urging of Secretary General Rasmussen -- agreed to limit this 
statement to only those issues actually scheduled to be 
discussed by ministers or in which some sort of substantive 
change -- such as the move to deterrent presence in Kosovo -- 
needed to be noted.  The lack of a reference to a particular 
subject in this statement should not be interpreted to 
indicate that the subject has fallen off NATO's agenda.  As 
para 1 of the Statement notes, Allies reaffirmed previous 
decisions on the range of other issues.  END COMMENT 
DAALDER