NATOsummit.cz : "...it would prefer the two men not to appear.."
11/14/2002 | НеДохтор
Про Лукакашенку та Кучму
з офіційного сайту саміту
http://www.natosummit.cz/view-id.php4?id=20021113E03958
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NATO not telling Prague to grant or not grant visas, it indicates
[ 13.11., 16:57 ]
BRUSSELS, Nov 13 (CTK) - The North Atlantic Alliance does not advise the Czech Republic whether or not to grant visas to Belarussian President Alexandr Lukashenko or his Ukrainian colleague Leonid Kuchma, but still it indicates that it would prefer the two men not to appear at the summit in Prague.
NATO leaves the question open as the matter of granting visas rests exclusively with the Czech Republic, a source in the Alliance seat who requested anonymity told CTK.
The source said after Belarus's threats addressed to the Czech Republic yesterday that it should now be easier to make a decision now.
Belarussian Foreign Minister Mikhail Khvostov met Czech diplomatic representative in Minsk Ales Fojtik on Monday and warned him that Belarus would consider a possible denial of visas to the Belarussian delegation as a step aimed at undermining bilateral relations.
In the latest developmetns, the Reuters agency has just reported that Lukashenko has threatened that unless the Czech Republic grants him a visa to attend the Prague NATO summit, Belarus would stop guarding its border and would let thousands of illegal emigrants as well drugs to western Europe.
NATO officials admit that the visa issue is now being consulted with Prague, indicating that the refusal to grant a visa could be a welcome last, extreme possibility of preventing Lukashenko's presence if he insists on it.
The source said it is NATO, not the Czech Republic who extends invitations to meetings of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) of which Belarus is still a member and therefore it can decide whom to send to it.
At the same time however NATO clearly says that some people are unacceptable and that Belarus at the moment meets neither the EAPC nor Partnership for Peace conditions, the source said.
The situation is different in Kuchma's case because the USA considers him personally responsible for the authorisation of a supply of a radar system to Iraq.
His presence in Prague is therefore undesirable, but otherwise the Alliance wants to confirm interest in intensive cooperation with Ukraine and hold a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Committee at ministerial level.
According to information from Brussels Kuchma has not yet applied for a visa. If he wanted to arrive, NATO will probably hope that the Czech Republic will deny him a visa just as in Lukashenko's case.
The decision-making of the Czech Foreign Ministry should be made easier by a planned resolution of the European Union to enter Lukashenko and people from his surroundings in a list of people to whom EU member countries would not grant visas.
The formulation of the resolution is now being drafted by top bodies of the EU Council and it is to be submitted for approval by the EU foreign ministers by early next week.
The NATO summit will be held in Prague on November 21-22.
ms/dr
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з офіційного сайту саміту
http://www.natosummit.cz/view-id.php4?id=20021113E03958
-----------------
NATO not telling Prague to grant or not grant visas, it indicates
[ 13.11., 16:57 ]
BRUSSELS, Nov 13 (CTK) - The North Atlantic Alliance does not advise the Czech Republic whether or not to grant visas to Belarussian President Alexandr Lukashenko or his Ukrainian colleague Leonid Kuchma, but still it indicates that it would prefer the two men not to appear at the summit in Prague.
NATO leaves the question open as the matter of granting visas rests exclusively with the Czech Republic, a source in the Alliance seat who requested anonymity told CTK.
The source said after Belarus's threats addressed to the Czech Republic yesterday that it should now be easier to make a decision now.
Belarussian Foreign Minister Mikhail Khvostov met Czech diplomatic representative in Minsk Ales Fojtik on Monday and warned him that Belarus would consider a possible denial of visas to the Belarussian delegation as a step aimed at undermining bilateral relations.
In the latest developmetns, the Reuters agency has just reported that Lukashenko has threatened that unless the Czech Republic grants him a visa to attend the Prague NATO summit, Belarus would stop guarding its border and would let thousands of illegal emigrants as well drugs to western Europe.
NATO officials admit that the visa issue is now being consulted with Prague, indicating that the refusal to grant a visa could be a welcome last, extreme possibility of preventing Lukashenko's presence if he insists on it.
The source said it is NATO, not the Czech Republic who extends invitations to meetings of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) of which Belarus is still a member and therefore it can decide whom to send to it.
At the same time however NATO clearly says that some people are unacceptable and that Belarus at the moment meets neither the EAPC nor Partnership for Peace conditions, the source said.
The situation is different in Kuchma's case because the USA considers him personally responsible for the authorisation of a supply of a radar system to Iraq.
His presence in Prague is therefore undesirable, but otherwise the Alliance wants to confirm interest in intensive cooperation with Ukraine and hold a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Committee at ministerial level.
According to information from Brussels Kuchma has not yet applied for a visa. If he wanted to arrive, NATO will probably hope that the Czech Republic will deny him a visa just as in Lukashenko's case.
The decision-making of the Czech Foreign Ministry should be made easier by a planned resolution of the European Union to enter Lukashenko and people from his surroundings in a list of people to whom EU member countries would not grant visas.
The formulation of the resolution is now being drafted by top bodies of the EU Council and it is to be submitted for approval by the EU foreign ministers by early next week.
The NATO summit will be held in Prague on November 21-22.
ms/dr
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