RF warplanes not required to contact Estonia over neutral waters -

.

MOSCOW, August 8 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian Air Force planes are not
required to contact Estonian air traffic controllers when flying over
neutral waters, Air Force acting Commander-in-Chief, Lieutenant-General
Vadim Volkovitsky said on Friday.
The statement followed remarks by Estonian Air Force Commander,
Brigadier General Valeri Saar who accused Russia of intensifying flights
over the Baltic Sea and of its military pilots' failure to contact and
obey Estonian air traffic controllers.
"Russian Air Force planes make flights without violating the airspace
of the adjacent states, in accordance with international rules of flights
over the high seas," Volkovitsky said.
"In accordance with international rules and the accepted practice of
radio communication in combat aviation, Russian Air Force crews do not
have to contact Estonia's Air Traffic Control Centre," he said.
"The Russian military planes are provided with all the necessary
equipment for flights by international routes and over neutral waters,
including in the Bay of Finland," the commander said.
"All flights of long-range aviation are made in accordance with the
combat training plan and in strict compliance with the international rules
of using airspace, over neutral waters, without violating the borders of
other states," Air Force spokesman, Colonel Vladimir Drik said earlier.
Russia resumed air patrolling by long-range aviation in remote areas
on August 17 after a break since 1992 by a decision of the supreme
commander-in-chief - the president of Russia - Putin at that time.
Putin called on other countries to show understanding.
"Since 1992, the Russian Federation has unilaterally stopped flights
of its strategic aviation in remote combat areas. Regrettably, not all of
the countries followed suit. This has created certain problems for Russia'
s security. For this reason I have made the decision to resume flights of
Russian strategic aviation," the president said.

.Ukrainian FM explains presidential decree on NATO membership
programme.

KIEV, August 8 (Itar-Tass) --The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry elaborated
on President Viktor Yushchenko's decree approving an annual national
programme of preparations for accession to NATO.
The decree approves "a new format of pursuing Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic
policy in the form of annual national programmes and determines the
procedure for drafting and implementing them," the ministry said on Friday.
"The approval of the annual national programme has become a practical
step in implementing decisions adopted at the Bucharest Summit and the
top-level meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission in April 2009 that
Ukraine will become a member of NATO," the ministry said.
Kiev considers "the annual national programme as a practical tool for
carrying out necessary reforms, focusing on priority tasks the fulfilment
of which will be aimed at complying with membership requirements and the
alliance's standards".
The Ukrainian leadership is confident that this will "facilitate not
only Ukraine's progress in Euro-Atlantic integration but also better
defence capability and prosperity of the state".
The annual national programme covers issues related to defence,
security, economic and anti-corruption reforms, the ministry said.
Earlier, the Ukrainian government approved an annual programme of
preparations for NATO membership.
"The programme of cooperation between Ukraine and NATO is being
implemented within the parameters that have been approved," Ukrainian
Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko said, adding that other countries also
have their programmes with NATO.
She stressed that the question of Ukraine's accession to NATO should
be solved at a nationwide referendum.
Ukraine's commitment to integration into the European Union and NATO
is the basis of its foreign policy strategy, Yushchenko said earlier.
Ukraine completed drafting the annual programme of cooperation with
NATO and sent it to the alliance for consideration.
"This programme reflects our readiness to carry out reforms in order
to meet NATO standards," the president said.
Speaking at a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Inter-Parliamentary Council
in Kiev on March 12, NATO Parliamentary Assembly Vice President Assen Agov
said the Bucharest Summit had demonstrated the support of many NATO member
states to the idea of admitting Ukraine to NATO.
However in order to become a NATO member, Ukraine should intensify
democratic reforms, he said.
Ukrainian leader should also convince the people that cooperation with
NATO would benefit their country, Agov said.
NATO's then Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has so far not
said when Ukraine and Georgia might be admitted to the alliance.
He said it was not possible to answer this question because the
decision will depend on the 28 NATO member states. NATO will admit Croatia
and Albania in 2009.
At their meeting in Brussels in December, the NATO foreign ministers
denied membership action plans (MAP) to Ukraine and Georgia.
-0-zak/