05 December 2000 U.S., Ukraine Sign Defense Cooperation Plan for 2001 The United States and Ukraine have signed a Plan of Cooperation for 2001 that is designed to meet "mutually agreed upon goals" in eight main areas including interoperability, force professionalization, and defense structuring, and which will continue their Cooperative Threat Reduction program. The agreement was signed December 5 by Secretary of Defense William Cohen and Ukrainian Minister of Defense Olexander Kuzmuk while the two men were in Brussels for the NATO defense ministerial, according to the following news release from the U.S. Department of Defense: U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Washington, D.C. 20301 December 5, 2000 U.S. and Ukrainian Defense Ministries Sign Annual Plan of Cooperation Today at NATO headquarters in Belgium, U.S. Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen and Ukrainian Minister of Defense Olexander Kuzmuk signed an annual Plan of Cooperation between the United States Department of Defense and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. Building on the first plan, signed in 1993, this bilateral plan sets out defense and military cooperation activities between the two countries for 2001. In 2001, cooperation between the defense ministries is designed to meet mutually agreed upon goals in eight main focus areas, including interoperability, force professionalization, civil-military affairs, defense structuring and resourcing, and military technical cooperation. Engagement activities and U.S. assistance will specifically meet Ukrainian goals set out in its Defense Reform and Restructuring Plan through 2005. The Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, the hallmark program of our engagement since 1993, will continue with activities to assist Ukraine with eliminating weapon systems covered by START as well as the infrastructure for weapons of mass destruction. (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov) Return to the Washington File