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Ukraine Navy Delegation Visits NATO’s Allied Maritime Command

NORTHWOOD, UK – Yesterday NATO’s Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) Chief of Staff, Rear Admiral Giorgio Lazio, welcomed a delegation of five officers from the Ukraine Navy, led by Rear Admiral Dmytro Taran, First Deputy Chief of Staff of Ukrainian Naval Forces Command, to MARCOM for discussions within the existing framework of NATO-Ukraine cooperation.

The visit featured a tour of MARCOM’s Maritime Operations Centre (MOC) and updates on the ongoing NATO counter-piracy Operation OCEAN SHIELD (OOS) and counter-terrorism Operation ACTIVE ENDEAVOUR (OAE).  Ukraine is the sole partner nation to directly contribute naval forces to both operations.  UPS HETMAN SAGAIDACHNYI supported OOS in the fall of 2013, and numerous Ukrainian Navy vessels have supported OAE, most recently UPS TERNOPIL in late 2013.

"We welcome the opportunity to meet with our counterparts from the Ukrainian Navy,” said Rear Admiral Lazio.  "Our staff and the delegation benefited from the opportunity to discuss the challenges Ukraine faces in restoring its naval capabilities, as well as opportunities for future cooperation within our partnership framework.”

The Ukraine is one of NATO’s oldest and most important regional partners, with a strong relationship dating back to Ukraine’s joining NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme in 1994.

In addition to OAE and OOS, Ukraine has contributed to many NATO-led operations, to include peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the KFOR mission in Kosovo, ISAF in Afghanistan, and the former NATO Training Mission in Iraq.

Ukraine participates in the NATO's Partnership for Peace Planning and Review Process (PARP), which jointly develops goals for shaping force structure and capabilities to help countries like the Ukraine meet their objectives for interoperability with the Alliance.

The formal basis for NATO-Ukraine relations is the 1997 Charter on a Distinctive Partnership, which established the NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC). Practical cooperation with NATO continues in a wide range of areas.