Ukraine Joins SEDM.

Ukraine was admitted to the South-Eastern European Defence Ministerial (SEDM), at the organization’s tenth annual conference on December 6th in Washington D.C.  The group focuses on developing cooperation in line with NATO standards in military technology, training, peacekeeping activities, and regional security issues. SEDM was set up in 1996 as a development group for countries interested in joining Euro-Atlantic organizations such as NATO and works to maintain peace and stability in South-eastern Europe. Italy, Greece, Turkey, Albania, Romania, Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia, Bulgaria and the U.S. are all SEDM members. Concorde Capital:  President Viktor Yushchenko made joining NATO one of his main goals as part of his Euro-integration program, joining SEDM is a step in this direction. However, the government’s own forecasts don’t foresee Ukraine joining NATO before 2008.