ABSTRACT
On American initiative the Partnership for Peace programme was developed to improve further military cooperation between NATO and other European states, including non-NACC members of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe who wished to join. Membership of Partnership for Peace requires two initial actions: first, the signing of the Framework Document which sets out the basic commitments of both NATO and participating partners; second each partner has to submit a Presentation Document setting out their programme for participation. NATO has reaffirmed that membership is open to other European states; Partnership for Peace is a qualifying step towards admission. NATO continues to play an important role in support of the UN's peacekeeping operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. A new element was added in August 1993 when NATO deployed ground-attack aircraft to Italy to provide air support for UN troops should this be necessary.
