Head of the NATO military committee, General Raymond Henault, states that the question on placement of military bases on the territory of any country is the sovereign decision of the leadership of the country.
“This is a decision of each sovereign state – to permit or not to permit military forces of other countries to place their military bases on its territory, and we will respect the sovereignty of the state. This decision must be taken at the bilateral political level,” he stated in an interview with journalists on Friday in Kyiv.
Answering the journalists’ question, whether NATO intends to listen to the proposition of the USA State Secretary General Condoleezza Rice and do not invite Russia to the forthcoming summit of the Alliance in Bucharest in connection with “hypothetic threats in direct of Ukraine”, Henault said: “The Secretary General has invited President Putin to be a member of the NATO summit… We are waiting for his answer”.
Commenting on the position of the factions of the minority in the Ukrainian parliament, Henault has noted that the Alliance has “special relations” with Ukraine and has reminded that Ukraine is the single country – a partner of NATO, which takes part in all four missions (Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Mediterranean area).
Besides, according to Henault , the dialog is held within the framework of the special Ukraine-NATO commission, and the meetings at the different levels are held too.
At the same time Henault has emphasized that NATO is well informed about the situation in the Ukrainian parliament, as well as concerning the attitude of the Ukrainian people towards the Alliance and he respects any position.
