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National Defence committee Consensus is required. Let's put it that way.
May 1st, 2012Committee meeting
James Appathurai
National Defence committee You're quite right that in the EU they have percentage votes. We have no qualified majority voting, so which water glasses to buy has to go to a committee, and everyone has to agree, which doesn't always make things work efficiently.
May 1st, 2012Committee meeting
James Appathurai
National Defence committee Yes. NATO is not involved in the Arctic. It has a very clear position. Some allies would like to see a discussion on the Arctic within NATO. There are others who do not wish to see that discussion take place, so it does not take place. Coming back to your discussion of decision
May 1st, 2012Committee meeting
James Appathurai
National Defence committee In a general sense?
May 1st, 2012Committee meeting
James Appathurai
National Defence committee I mentioned this with your colleague. The secretary general has pushed very hard on intelligence fusion, first to improve the confidence that allies have in the systems within NATO, so they're more likely to give it, and that's been done; second, to actually improve the sharing a
May 1st, 2012Committee meeting
James Appathurai
National Defence committee I think we need to first not advance time for a moment, because the current Ukrainian government has chosen what is in essence non-aligned status and revoked their desire to want to join. That's the position we're in now. Second, there are fundamental concerns, as you've noted,
May 1st, 2012Committee meeting
James Appathurai
National Defence committee I can give you four points. One is, yes, we are first and foremost now reinforcing our own systems, including the systems connecting NATO to national systems, including this country's. Second, we've created what's called a centre of excellence in Estonia where we bring together
May 1st, 2012Committee meeting
James Appathurai
National Defence committee Thank you. There are three countries that are formally on track, and a fourth, which is basically as we discussed, Georgia, and a decision has already been taken. For Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which I will henceforth call Ma
May 1st, 2012Committee meeting
James Appathurai
National Defence committee The fact that we reduced the number of these warheads in Europe by more than 90%, as I pointed out, shows that they are indeed paramount to our strategy. Russia, however, is maintaining them. We believe we could bring down this number much further, but we need to discuss it with
May 1st, 2012Committee meeting
James Appathurai
National Defence committee I am not sure whether the topic will be discussed in Chicago, but I am certain it will appear in the documents.
May 1st, 2012Committee meeting
James Appathurai
National Defence committee I did not say that Canada didn't have the authority to reduce or not reduce one of those aspects. It is up to Canada to decide what it wants to do. I said that Canada has a range of capabilities that are very valuable to NATO. We do not want Canada to abandon its arms and focus
May 1st, 2012Committee meeting
James Appathurai
National Defence committee That's a very fundamental question. As NATO gets bigger, you have more countries that have slightly different priorities. Let's put it that way. The countries in the south look at the Mediterranean and want to ensure that it's peaceful so they want to reach out there. The countri
May 1st, 2012Committee meeting
James Appathurai
National Defence committee That is outlined in the strategic concept, but NATO would like to talk to the Russians about reducing the number of non-strategic nuclear warheads in Europe and moving them outside NATO's borders. This involves mainly the Russians, since it is primarily them who have this capabil
May 1st, 2012Committee meeting
James Appathurai
National Defence committee I would say this: sometimes, and more and more, keeping yourself safe at home means going to the problem before it comes to you. That's why we are in Afghanistan. Frankly, the problem came to us. We need to make sure we don't get more problems from there. It's not just that kin
May 1st, 2012Committee meeting
James Appathurai
National Defence committee You used the word “prefer”. That's the right word. NATO will always look to the UN for a mandate for expeditionary operations. Except for a moment of the Kosovo operation, that has always been the case. NATO does not need the mandate of the United Nations to operate. Certainly, w
May 1st, 2012Committee meeting
James Appathurai