Ukraine, NATO discuss further military cooperation

KIEV. February 12. KAZINFORM Ukraine armed forces commander-in-chief Hryhoriy Pedchenko met here with Deputy Chairman of the NATO Military Committee Walter Gaskin on Friday to discuss further military cooperation; Kazinform refers to China Daily.

Pedchenko reiterated directions preferable for his country's armed forces in bilateral cooperation, such as participation in multinational military training, involving Ukraine's armed forces in high alert formations and crisis management campaigns, as well as implementation of joint defence projects.

Gaskin said that current partnership between Ukraine and NATO is flexible and productive, expressing respect for Ukraine's nonaligned political stance.

"We respect Ukraine's nonaligned status. At the same time we are very grateful to Ukraine for its contribution to operations to settle crises under the guidance of NATO," he said.

Speaking about further military cooperation, Gaskin said NATO will pay great attention to bilateral cooperation on Ukraine's armed forces restructuring, its weapons modernization and the state's participation in NATO's peacekeeping operations; Kazinform cites China Daily.

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