The White House, Office of the Press Secretary:
"The United States strongly supports NATO’s cooperation with partners as a means to share more effectively burdens and act worldwide to accomplish our common security goals. This aligns with wider U.S. strategy of driving global cooperation on security challenges through networks of alliances.
NATO’s Wales Summit marks the 20th anniversary of its longest-standing partnership networks. The Partnership for Peace (PfP), established in 1994, includes 22 partners; the Mediterranean Dialogue (Med-D), also established in 1994, includes Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia; and the Istanbul Cooperative Initiative (ICI), established in 2004, includes Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and UAE. Another initiative, NATO’s Partners Across the Globe (PAG), includes cooperation with Australia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Mongolia.
An Evolving Focus in Our Longstanding Partnerships. At their inception, NATO’s partnership programs sought to reform defense sectors in the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe. In recent years, while many NATO partnerships have come to focus on interoperability and contributions to NATO operations by capable partners, political engagement and mentorship in security sector reform continue to feature prominently in partner engagement. NATO works to tailor its approach to the expressed goals of its partner nations.
NATO remains committed to further strengthening and deepening its partnerships, as was agreed during the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago and re-affirmed here in Wales with the establishment of the Interoperability Initiative. This program includes an “Interoperability Platform” of some 24 partners that will help NATO and its partners maintain joint readiness to tackle security challenges. Additionally, it includes an upper tier of “Enhanced Partners,” which provides early access to operational planning, streamlined participation in exercises, and regular political consultations for NATO’s closest and most interoperable partners.
U.S. Assistance to Partners. U.S. support to NATO Partners typically falls into three categories: (1) direct security assistance, (2) training and exercises, or (3) long term institutional reform. We have actively engaged in each of these areas for Ukraine, and measures are underway to intensify support for Moldova and Georgia.
Since March 2014, the United States has responded to direct Ukrainian requests for non-lethal security assistance to address the instability in Ukraine. As of mid-August, we have announced $60 million in support for the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense (MOD), State Border Guard Service, and the National Guard. Deliveries so far have included meals ready-to-eat, body armor, radios, vehicles, thermal vision devices, medical supplies, explosive ordinance disposal robots, uniforms, and individual tactical gear. Shipments are planned through late 2014 and will include night vision devices, additional communications equipment, and more helmets. We will continue to assess Ukraine’s needs to apply future funding towards the highest priority requirements.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/05/fact-sheet-nato-and-us-efforts-support-nato-partners-including-ukraine-m
5/9/14
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Related:
"The United States strongly supports NATO’s cooperation with partners as a means to share more effectively burdens and act worldwide to accomplish our common security goals. This aligns with wider U.S. strategy of driving global cooperation on security challenges through networks of alliances.
NATO’s Wales Summit marks the 20th anniversary of its longest-standing partnership networks. The Partnership for Peace (PfP), established in 1994, includes 22 partners; the Mediterranean Dialogue (Med-D), also established in 1994, includes Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia; and the Istanbul Cooperative Initiative (ICI), established in 2004, includes Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and UAE. Another initiative, NATO’s Partners Across the Globe (PAG), includes cooperation with Australia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Mongolia.
An Evolving Focus in Our Longstanding Partnerships. At their inception, NATO’s partnership programs sought to reform defense sectors in the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe. In recent years, while many NATO partnerships have come to focus on interoperability and contributions to NATO operations by capable partners, political engagement and mentorship in security sector reform continue to feature prominently in partner engagement. NATO works to tailor its approach to the expressed goals of its partner nations.
NATO remains committed to further strengthening and deepening its partnerships, as was agreed during the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago and re-affirmed here in Wales with the establishment of the Interoperability Initiative. This program includes an “Interoperability Platform” of some 24 partners that will help NATO and its partners maintain joint readiness to tackle security challenges. Additionally, it includes an upper tier of “Enhanced Partners,” which provides early access to operational planning, streamlined participation in exercises, and regular political consultations for NATO’s closest and most interoperable partners.
U.S. Assistance to Partners. U.S. support to NATO Partners typically falls into three categories: (1) direct security assistance, (2) training and exercises, or (3) long term institutional reform. We have actively engaged in each of these areas for Ukraine, and measures are underway to intensify support for Moldova and Georgia.
Since March 2014, the United States has responded to direct Ukrainian requests for non-lethal security assistance to address the instability in Ukraine. As of mid-August, we have announced $60 million in support for the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense (MOD), State Border Guard Service, and the National Guard. Deliveries so far have included meals ready-to-eat, body armor, radios, vehicles, thermal vision devices, medical supplies, explosive ordinance disposal robots, uniforms, and individual tactical gear. Shipments are planned through late 2014 and will include night vision devices, additional communications equipment, and more helmets. We will continue to assess Ukraine’s needs to apply future funding towards the highest priority requirements.
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Additionally, two significant events with the Ukrainian military are
planned for September 2014: SEA BREEZE and RAPID TRIDENT. The first is
an annual multilateral naval exercise, which will occur in international
waters. The second exercise is focused on ground forces and involves
15 countries at a training center in Western Ukraine.
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We also have launched initiatives to assist Ukraine in reforming its
defense institutions. This support consists of multi-level engagements
to provide advice to the MOD leadership in areas such as defense
institution building, cyber defense, logistics, and standardization.
Additionally, we are working to help Ukraine develop a new defense
strategy and further develop its National Guard.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/05/fact-sheet-nato-and-us-efforts-support-nato-partners-including-ukraine-m
5/9/14
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Related:
NATO adds spearhead force, cyber defence to its European arsenal...
ReplyDeleteNATO approved wide-ranging plans on Friday to boost its defences in eastern Europe, aiming to reassure allies nervous about Russia's intervention in Ukraine that the US-led alliance will shield them from any attack.
The plan, adopted at a summit in Wales, includes creating a "spearhead" rapid reaction force and pre-positioning supplies and equipment in east European countries so they can be reinforced within days in a crisis.
The initiative was intended to provide assurances to former Soviet bloc states that have joined the US-led alliance in the last 15 years, especially Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
The 28-nation alliance also agreed for the first time to add cyber defence to its core mission, meaning that a major cyber attack on a member state - such as a 2007 attack on Estonia's digital infrastructure - could trigger a military response....................http://www.france24.com/en/20140905-nato-spearhead-rapid-reaction-force-cyber-defence-ukraine-russia/