VILNIUS, April 21 (Xinhuanet) -- The two-day foreign ministers' informal meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) concluded here on Thursday in the capital city of Lithuania, with marked breakthrough made in Ukraine's NATO membership aspiration.

    The meeting, first of its kind ever held outside of NATO headquarters in Brussels, highlighted the NATO ties with Ukraine, and NATO foreign ministers and their counterpart Boris Tarasyuk held an exclusive meeting under the framework of so-call NATO-Ukraine Commission in NATO's jargon.

    Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has long pledged the will to join NATO and his aspiration won support from U.S. President George W. Bush, a paramount leader in the military alliance, during his European tour in February.

    The ministers agreed on Thursday to launch short-term actions in support of Ukraine's reforms, like reinvigorating cooperation in defense and security sector reform, and enhancing support to address the soci-economic impact of defense reform.

    Prior to the meeting, de Hoop Scheffer and Tarasyuk sign an exchange of letters establishing modalities for Ukraine's contribution to NATO' anti-terrorism operations in the Mediterranean.

    "Today is a new chapter for NATO-Ukraine relations," Tarasyuk hailed.

    Heartened by NATO's support, Tarasyuk said he hopes that Ukraine can complete its relevant reforms within three years and join the military alliance in 2008.

    "Ukraine does not begin from zero,"Tarasyuk said, noting that Ukraine has taken part in various cooperation with NATO and got experience.

    "Ukraine is not a consumer in the membership, rather, we can contribute to the security and stability of this continent," the foreign minister said.

    De Hoop Scheffer, on his part as the NATO chief, was cautious on the timing.

    "I don't know. I'm representing the alliance, I can only say I don't know about the time," he said.

    However, the NATO chief said NATO would "help Ukraine in any way" on implementing the reform of defense and security sectors.

    De Hoop Scheffer repeatedly stressed his position that Ukraine possible membership should be "performance-based."

    "The further intensification of the NATO-Ukraine relationship will continue to be based on Ukraine's performance in the implementation of reform objectives, a process which NATO will assess regularly and stands ready to assist," he added.

    Despite widely-reported opposition from Russia on Ukraine's NATO ambition, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday expressed indifference to the move, saying it was "a choice of external relations by a sovereign state."

    Lavrov, for his part, joined hands with de Hoop Scheffer earlier on Thursday to sign the Partnership for Peace Status of Forces Agreement (PfP SOFA), a stride for NATO and Russia,who quarrel all the time but cooperate in fighting terrorism.

    The agreement, hailed by both side as "significant", settles the legal status of armed forces of both Russian troops and NATO forces in holding peace-keeping missions and anti-terrorism operations as well as in transit.

    "Russia's accession to the PfP SOFA will open important new horizon for concrete, practical NATO-Russia cooperation," said de Hoop Scheffer at the signing ceremony.

    Lavrov called Russia's accession into the agreement "indeed a milestone of NATO-Russia cooperation," noting that this would "pave the way for additional practical cooperation" between NATO and Russia.

    During a luncheon on Thursday noon, NATO foreign ministers mainly discussed the situation in Darfur of Sudan, a issue highlighted by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

    Telling a press conference, Rice said NATO should provide help to alleviate suffering in Sudan's stricken Darfur region, if askedto by the AU.

    However, Rice ruled out NATO's direct operations in the region.

    "Everyone wants to encourage the African Union to take the lead,because regional organizations do this better than anyone else," she said.

    "The AU may need some help with capacity in order particularlyto get monitors into Darfur, to make it safe or human assistance to be able to be delivered and so forth," she added.

    Rice's call was positively responded by NATO chief de Hoop Scheffer, who pleaded that the military alliance was "ready to provide assistance" to the AU's mission in Darfur.

    "If requested, NATO is pleased to offer military planning and logistic assistance," said he, ruling out the possibility of NATO's direct involvement in this conflict-stricken region.

    "This is AU's mission," the NATO chief said, adding that both NATO and EU are merely to offer "assistance".

    A day earlier, the NATO foreign ministers held a dinner meeting,discussing issues on Middle East, Afghanistan and Balkans.

    The ministers vowed to expand the operations of NATO-led international security and assistance force (ISAF) in Afghanistan,so as to ensure a security environment for Afghan parliamentary elections due in September this year.

    On the Middle East, the alliance encouraged the political dialogue between Israel and Palestine and called for smooth withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and parts of West Bank.

    However, de Hoop Scheffer ruled out the possibility of sending NATO-led peace-keeping mission in the region.

    On Wednesday evening, the foreign ministers also had a talks with EU foreign and security chief Javier Solana, pledging to enhancing the "political dialogue" across the Atlantic Ocean.

    "We have widened our relations," said de Hoop Scheffer, citing examples of cooperation in Balkans and Afghanistan.

    "The relationship between NATO and EU is by no means of competition," he said.

    Since the two-day meeting is an informal one, no decision was made yet. Enditem ¡¡