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<TITLE>Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Schenk...Partnership for Peace:A
Slovak View</TITLE>
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<CENTER><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+4">Partnership for Peace: A
Slovak View</FONT></FONT></CENTER>
<CENTER><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+3">Slovak Foreign Minister
Juraj Schenk</FONT></FONT></CENTER>
<P><FONT SIZE="+1"> </FONT> </P>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER><B><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+1">INTRODUCTION</FONT></FONT></B></CENTER>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">I would like to present the
Slovak Republic's basic attitudes toward the Partnership for Peace
program, considering the establishment of a direct link between my country
and NATO and the importance of PFP in European security, respectively.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER><B><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+1">NATO AND THE NEW
SECURITY ENVIRONMENT</FONT></FONT></B></CENTER>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">Just as many Central and Eastern
European countries have undergone great change over the past several
years, NATO is in the process of adapting its structures and policy to
meet the needs of the newly formed security environment. One key element
of this process, and a basic precondition for establishing confidence in
an acceptable security system on our continent, is to develop dialogue and
collaboration between NATO and Central and Eastern European countries and,
also, with other member-states of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Countries that stood on opposite sides of
the ongoing ideological conflict between the East and the West just a few
years ago must now come together.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">The first step on the road to
establishing these new relations was the creation of the North Atlantic
Cooperation Council (NACC) in 1991, through which an important
multilateral political forum evolved. NACC's success, combined with the
increasing need to accelerate rapprochement, led to the Partnership for
Peace idea. The development of the PFP program was the next important step
in establishing broad contacts between NATO and new Partners. But
Partnership for Peace is not only a framework for developing multilateral
security relations in Europe; it is also a means for achieving bilateral
cooperation. This is because each country that enrolls in this program
enjoys the possibility of direct relationships with NATO countries.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER><B><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+1">SLOVAK PARTICIPATION IN
PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE</FONT></FONT></B></CENTER>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">I am glad to say that, since its
establishment as a sovereign and democratic state, Slovakia has been using
its best human, financial, and military means to develop cooperation with
NATO. NACC and Partnership for Peace activities in which the Slovak
Republic has taken part, our active participation in U.N. and OSCE
peacekeeping operations, and our support of regional security cooperation
are ample proof of the will and ability of this country to contribute to
European security in an active way.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">The Slovak Republic was one of
the first countries to join PFP. We undertook this step with the goal of
becoming a full member of NATO, a priority of Slovak foreign policy. We do
not view membership in PFP as a substitute for membership in NATO, but as
a way to reach it. We are aware that expanding the Alliance is a long-term
process and that acceptance of new members will be the result of political
decision making by both individual NATO countries and the heads of the
Alliance. We therefore see Partnership for Peace as an important testing
mechanism that will affect the selection of NATO member-candidates. In our
opinion, successful participation in Partnership for Peace may become a
major factor in a candidate country's acceptance in NATO.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">On the other hand, PFP should
not be thought of only as a starting position for gaining full membership
in NATO. The program's major benefit is to permit the development of
transparent relationships and cooperation between the Alliance and
countries that most probably will not become its members in the near
future. Thus, even if the Slovak Republic acquires NATO membership, it
will continue to support Partnership for Peace as an important element in
security cooperation. The Slovak people view the successful development of
PFP as a safeguard for preserving peace and stability in Europe.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">We do expect, however, that the
Alliance will continue to approach applicants from Central and Eastern
Europe. Due to our own historical experience, we are convinced that the
absence of direct security guarantees for Central European countries may
cause instability and a re-division of Europe. We believe, therefore, that
effective security guarantees provided by NATO membership should not be
the privilege of only some countries. Slovakia, together with neighboring
and reforming Central European countries, has greatly progressed in
transforming its political and economic systems and in democratizing its
society. We now have the rare chance to become a democratic and prosperous
European country, and one of the signposts of this endeavor would be
membership in NATO.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER><B><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+1">Modernizing Forces and
Systems, PFP Activities</FONT></FONT></B></CENTER>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">In anticipation of this goal,
the Slovak government is in the process of building modern, democratic
armed forces that are compatible with those of Alliance countries. This
process includes gradual implementation of a national defense system
planning and strengthening the mechanisms of civil control of the armed
forces. New laws will have to be passed to reach compatibility in the
defense sphere with the standards of advanced democratic countries.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">While in 1994 the Slovak
Republic was only preparing for participation within PFP, we have already
carried out a number of concrete activities today. Our bilateral
Individual Partnership Program for 1995 gives priority to mutual military
cooperation such as building communication systems, organizing military
planning, and reaching compatibility and standardization in military
technology and logistics. For the current year, the government of the
Slovak Republic has provided 1%, or $4.3 million, of its military budget
for activities within Partnership for Peace against a total military
budget of 2.8% of our GNP.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">In late April 1995, the Slovak
Republic joined the Planning and Review Process (PARP) of the conventional
arms and technology identified for use within Partnership for Peace.
Slovakia also welcomed the proposal of the Status of Forces Agreement
(SOFA) between NATO countries and Partnership for Peace countries, the aim
of which is to define the legal status of NATO and Partnership for Peace
armed forces in case they must be sent into another state's territory. The
Slovak Republic will do its best to sign this agreement; our armed forces
have already participated in several military exercises within this
program. We also plan to build information channels for direct contacts
with NATO authorities and, among other things, to extend our PFP Liaison
Office at NATO Headquarters in Brussels as well as at SHAPE in Mons.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER><B><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+1">Future Goals</FONT></FONT></B></CENTER>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">So far, the contacts we have had
with authorities and structures of the Alliance within Partnership for
Peace have been mostly of a consultative nature. In the next collaboration
stages, we hope such contacts will help solve specific security problems
of mutual interest. We believe that our developing relationship will
create a sufficient framework for reaching the required level of
compatibility and interoperability of armed forces, and foster conditions
that will gradually interest the Alliance in solving the security problems
of participating Partnership countries--especially countries that are
primary candidates for enrollment in the Alliance. We also see the need
for strengthening the political dimension of Partnership for Peace in the
very near future. Extended political dialogue may remove some of the
distrust that still appears from time to time on both sides.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER><B><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+1">Problems with PFP
Participation</FONT></FONT></B></CENTER>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">Our country does not conceal the
fact that it has some problems in planning activities within Partnership
for Peace. In particular, we lack certain legal preconditions concerning
the participation of army personnel in joint exercises, and we especially
lack funds. We therefore do not plan to organize larger joint exercises in
the Slovak Republic. Rather, the Slovak army intends to organize smaller
military exercises in the near future with the participation of observers
and units from Partnership countries. During 1995, we will organize,
within our Individual Partnership Program, the "SKY COOPERATION"
air force exercise in U.N. peacekeeping troop protection. Our other
problems include the Slovak army's lack of foreign language knowledge, its
inadequate special training of commanders, and its reliance on poor
communication technology. We are aware that we should take the initiative
to solve these problems.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER><B><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+1">Regional Security
Cooperation</FONT></FONT></B></CENTER>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">One Partnership for Peace domain
on which we put special emphasis is regional security cooperation.
Recently, defense ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and
the Slovak Republic met for the third time in Hungary in order to achieve
closer cooperation within Partnership for Peace; the general staff of the
Slovak army also organized an exercise with their colleagues from Hungary
and Austria. In addition, the Slovak Foreign Ministry has initiated
bilateral consultations with experts from the Foreign Ministries of
Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic to coordinate steps towards NATO
membership.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER><B><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+1">CONCLUDING REMARKS</FONT></FONT></B></CENTER>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">The trustworthy security
relationships that are currently being created in Europe will be of
substantial importance in solving international crises in the future.
Despite initial skeptical views, the Partnership for Peace program has
proved to be a dynamic mechanism for removing the dividing lines of the
past and preventing new lines from forming in the future. The positive
development of Partnership for Peace activities, as assessed by
participating countries, is the best proof of the program's importance in
the new global security collaboration. The Slovak Republic's goal is to
fully engage in Partnership for Peace activities and create ever-closer
links with NATO in order to gain full membership in the Alliance and,
through this effort, to contribute to strengthening the overall stability
of democracy in Europe.</FONT></FONT> </P>
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