The UK is a strong supporter of NATO’s cooperation with Ukraine. Ukraine began an "Intensified Dialogue"on its NATO membership aspirations at the Foreign Ministers' meeting in Vilnius on 21 April 2005.
The UK’s bilateral defence cooperation programme with Ukraine is designed to support NATO-Ukraine cooperation. A UK Defence Adviser is working with Ukraine's Ministry of Defence in Kiev on defence reform. One element of the Defence Adviser's work in Kiev is heading the UK's leading role in the Programme for Professional Development of Civilian Personnel employed in the Ukrainian Security Instutions.
Further supporting Ukraine's defence reform ambitions, the UK has contributed £400,000 to the NATO Trust Fund to destroy Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) there. Destruction started on 1 December 2005.
On 4-5 October 2006, the fifth informal NATO-Ukraine High-Level Consultations took place in Sintra, Portugal. Defence Minister Anatoliy Grytsenko headed the Ukrainian delegation. Discussions covered Ukraine's progress in taking forward defence and security sector reforms. During the event representatives from a group of NATO countries and Ukraine signed a letter of intent to establish a NATO-Ukraine Partnership Network for Civil Society Expertise Development. (The photo shows Minister for Armed Forces, Adam Ingram signing the letter with Ukraine's Defence Minister Anatoliy Grytsenko and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer).
The NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC) was established in 1997. A NATO-Ukraine Action Plan was announced at the Prague Summit in 2002. Prime Minister Yanukovych visited NATO in September 2006. During the NUC meeting, he made it clear that he wanted to continue to deepen co-operation with NATO, but that any move towards membership was dependant on public opinion. At the Bucharest Summit in April 2008, Allies agreed that Ukraine will one day become a member of NATO. Following Ukraine’s application for MAP and a period of intensive NATO engagement with Ukraine in the meantime, Foreign Ministers agreed at their meeting in December 2008 to enhance opportunities for assisting Ukraine in its efforts to meet membership requirements, making use of the existing framework of the NATO-Ukraine Commission. Ukraine is currently developing an Annual National Programme which will help Ukraine plan and implement the necessary reforms for eventual membership, this was discussed by Foreign Ministers at a meeting of the NATO Ukraine Commission on 5 March 2009. The UK will continue to work closely with Ukraine on the reforms necessary to take forward Ukraine's aspirations for euro-atlantic integration.
