ACCESSION NUMBER:221230 FILE ID:PO-507 DATE:03/27/92 TITLE:CHENEY TO MEET WITH NATO, FORMER PACT MINISTERS (03/27/92) TEXT:*92032707.POL CHENEY TO MEET WITH NATO, FORMER PACT MINISTERS (Agenda includes defense management issues) (680) By Jacquelyn S. Porth USIA Security Affairs Correspondent Washington -- Defense Secretary Cheney will meet collectively next week with all of the defense ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the former Warsaw Pact and representatives of the new Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The April 1 meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, the first of its kind, is designed to "institutionalize a process of cooperation between these former adversary countries," according to a senior Defense Department official. The official who briefed reporters March 27 said that it is important to get the defense ministers together and have them interact and to offer each other "practical help" such as how to plan a defense budget in a situation where there are civilian and military officers operating together for the first time. The meeting is the beginning of "a multilateral process" and an effort by the Western countries to be supportive of the other new nations as they make the transition "to democratic open societies," he said. It will provide a window for the Eastern defense ministers to see "the common political-military culture" and the "openness and transparency" which 1lready exists in the militaries in the West. It is an "historic" meeting, the official said, with the invitation of defense ministers from 34 nations which would have once been charged with planning military missions against each other. It is another indicator of how the world has changed, he added. The group will discuss "cooperative endeavors" they hope to pursue. It is expected that they will announce plans to hold a future seminar of defense policy and management. The official said it will focus on "the role and constitutional position of armed forces in democratic societies." The meeting organizers also expect the ministers to announce plans to hold a future workshop, the official said, on "the practical aspects of defense management" as well as reform and restructuring of armed forces. The idea is to "launch a process" which will result in the development of additional joint projects "on a continuous basis," he said. The first educational efforts will likely take place in Belgium, while subsequent ones will be arranged closer to the nations which need them most. Cheney will meet individually with a number of his counterparts including NATO Secretary General Manfred Woerner and German Defense Minister Gerhard Stoltenberg. Cheney is also expected to meet bilaterally with the defense ministers of Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria as well as Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The secretary hopes to meet with Russia's representative General Pavel Grachev, the newly appointed deputy minister of defense. Russian President Boris Yeltsin, acting defense minister, will not attend. Cheney met Grachev previously in his capacity as airborne commander, the official said. Asked if the subject of the Ukraine's recently expressed reluctance to send its nuclear weapons to Russia as part of the consolidation process would be discussed, the official said Cheney would be interested in hearing the assessment by the Ukrainian and Russian officials during their expected bilateral meetings. The official said Cheney also would be interested in hearing any ideas from Ukrainian Defense Minister Valentine Morozov on how the United States might be able to help move the consolidation and dismantlement process further along. Since Belarus has also made some statements in support of Ukraine's decision to halt warhead shipments to Russia, he said, the secretary would also look forward to hearing from Belarus Defense Minister Petr Chaus. The official indicated that the secretary would likely restate the U.S. position that the number of weapons of mass destruction in the CIS should be reduced and that those which remain should be under "careful control." Cheney departs Washington March 30 and will meet informally with other NATO defense ministers March 31. There will be a dinner that night for defense ministers from all of the participating countries. The secretary returns to Washington April 1. The formal session will convene April 1 with opening remarks by Secretary General Woerner. NNNN .