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FT closes door to unwelcome guests

11/16/2002 | Cowdenbreath
16.11.2002, 15:12
Л.Кучма и А.Зленко едут на саммит НАТО
В работе пражского саммита НАТО примут участие Президент Украины Леонид Кучма и Министр иностранных дел Анатолий Зленко, - сообщил секретарь СНБОУ Евгений Марчук.
По его словам, такое решение было принято на специальном заседании СНБОУ. В частности, Президент примет участие в заседании Совета североатлантического содружества, а А.Зленко - в заседании комиссии Украина-НАТО.
LIGA ONLINE

WORLD NEWS: WORLD NEWS: Nato closes door to unwelcome guests
By Tom Warner in Kiev and Robert Anderson in Prague
Financial Times; Nov 16, 2002


Nato appeared yesterday to have deflected two potentially embarrassing guests from next week's Prague summit. The Czech government has barred Belarus's anti-western president from attending, while Ukraine's scandal-tarred leader indicated that he had been talked out of going.

The Czech decision came after Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus threatened to break off diplomatic and economic relations. He added that Belarus would stop efforts to block the movement of illegal migrants and drug smugglers to the west unless the European Union agreed to foot the bill.

Cyril Svoboda, Czech foreign minister, told a press conference that Mr Lukashenko's visa application would be refused as Belarus did not respect human rights and also to prevent Mr Lukashenko from using the visit to "legitimise his position" in Belarus. Other, lower-level, Belarus officials would be welcome at the summit, Mr Svoboda said.

The EU is expected to isolate Mr Lukashenko further next Monday by putting him and 50 of his top officials on a visa blacklist.

Nato has made it clear to Mr Lukashenko and to Ukraine's Leonid Kuchma that they will not be welcome at the summit. Stung by the snubs, the two presidents announced they would go to Prague anyway to attend a meeting of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, a consultative group that includes the former Soviet republics.

Nato initially appeared outmanoeuvred, since its rules allow each EAPC member to choose its own delegates.

The Nato rejection has been a particularly bitter pill for Mr Kuchma, who had been on relatively good terms with the alliance until one of his former guards published a recording in which Mr Kuchma appeared to approve the sale of military radars to Iraq.

After the US said it believed the recording was authentic, Nato decided not to invite Ukraine to the summit's core meetings and asked Mr Kuchma to let his foreign minister head Ukraine's delegation.

Mr Kuchma has been backtracking from his threat to make an unwelcome appearance since he received a call last week from Lord Robertson, Nato secretary-general, who told him it would be "unwise".

Mr Kuchma's security council is to decide today who - if anyone - Ukraine will send to the summit. But at a press conference yesterday Mr Kuchma made it clear he thought Ukraine should give it a miss.


to unwelcome guests
By Tom Warner in Kiev and Robert Anderson in Prague
Financial Times; Nov 16, 2002


Nato appeared yesterday to have deflected two potentially embarrassing guests from next week's Prague summit. The Czech government has barred Belarus's anti-western president from attending, while Ukraine's scandal-tarred leader indicated that he had been talked out of going.

The Czech decision came after Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus threatened to break off diplomatic and economic relations. He added that Belarus would stop efforts to block the movement of illegal migrants and drug smugglers to the west unless the European Union agreed to foot the bill.

Cyril Svoboda, Czech foreign minister, told a press conference that Mr Lukashenko's visa application would be refused as Belarus did not respect human rights and also to prevent Mr Lukashenko from using the visit to "legitimise his position" in Belarus. Other, lower-level, Belarus officials would be welcome at the summit, Mr Svoboda said.

The EU is expected to isolate Mr Lukashenko further next Monday by putting him and 50 of his top officials on a visa blacklist.

Nato has made it clear to Mr Lukashenko and to Ukraine's Leonid Kuchma that they will not be welcome at the summit. Stung by the snubs, the two presidents announced they would go to Prague anyway to attend a meeting of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, a consultative group that includes the former Soviet republics.

Nato initially appeared outmanoeuvred, since its rules allow each EAPC member to choose its own delegates.

The Nato rejection has been a particularly bitter pill for Mr Kuchma, who had been on relatively good terms with the alliance until one of his former guards published a recording in which Mr Kuchma appeared to approve the sale of military radars to Iraq.

After the US said it believed the recording was authentic, Nato decided not to invite Ukraine to the summit's core meetings and asked Mr Kuchma to let his foreign minister head Ukraine's delegation.

Mr Kuchma has been backtracking from his threat to make an unwelcome appearance since he received a call last week from Lord Robertson, Nato secretary-general, who told him it would be "unwise".

Mr Kuchma's security council is to decide today who - if anyone - Ukraine will send to the summit. But at a press conference yesterday Mr Kuchma made it clear he thought Ukraine should give it a miss.

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