No. 7 (07/03/97) A month of euroatlantic integration (February 1997)
February 1st
- The USA and France are Æon the same wavelength" with respect to the extension of NATO to the east and with respect to the negotiations about the agreement between the organisation and Russia about the regulation of the relations - said the White House spokesman. Michael Curry talked about a telephone conversation between president Bill Clinton and Jacques Chirac French head of state about the extension and modernisation of the NATO, among other things. The discussion was mainly about the significance of the agreement to be concluded between NATO and Russia and about the questions of the agenda of the NATO summit to be held in June in Madrid.
February 2nd
- The discussion between Russian president Boris Yeltsin and
French president Jacques Chirac about the new European system of security,
the planned extension of NATO and the bilateral relations only lasted an
hour and a quarter. Sergej Jastrzembskij, spokesman of the Russian
president, said that the discussion was characterised by Æopenness and
friendly harmony" which also characterises the relationship of the two countries.
It was confirmed at the discussion that the next summit would be held at
theend of September.
- Romania meets the requirements needed to start the negotiations about
NATO accession - said Victor Ciorbea Romanian prime minister in connection
with his discussion with John Kornblum, foreign affairs deputy secretary
of state responsible for European and Canadian affairs. Kornblum pointed
it out that they intend to support Romania in reaching their aims in European
integration, because the victory of the former opposition at the Parliamentary
and presidential elections showed that Romania has become a country with
an open and democratic society.
February 4th
- Olexander Kuzmuk, Ukrainian minister of defence said: it
is not excluded that Ukraine will change their present position outside the
block and they might join NATO. Michael Portillo, British minister
of defence pointed out during his visit to Kiev that the special partnership
agreement between Ukraine and NATO may be concluded before the NATO meeting
to be held in July.
- Russia would accept the NATO accession of Hungary and the other members
of the former Warsaw Pact, if the Atlantic Organisation regulated their new
system of relations with Moscow in an agreement before the NATO summit that
is to make an official decision about the extension in July - said Anatolij
Tsubais, director of the Russian presidential office.
February 5th
- ÆI do not think that Turkey would put a veto on the planned
extension of the NATO as, together with the other member states, they also
supported the summoning of the Madrid summit of the organisation in July
and the agenda of the meeting on which the extension is one of the most important
topics" - said Javier Solana during his short visit to Hungary.
February 6th
- The USA rejected the French proposal to hold a summit with the
participation of France, the USA, Britain, Germany and Russia in Paris in
April to determine the future relations of NATO and Moscow and to prepare
the summit to be held in Madrid in July to decide upon the extension of the
North Atlantic Organisation. Nicholas Burns, spokesman of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs in Washington said that the reason for the rejection was
that the Æopinion of all NATO members, both the big ones and the small
ones, should be considered" in the questions talked about and that they should
concentrate on the Madrid summit. He added that Javier Solana, secretary
general of NATO enjoys full confidence of the USA in his negotiations about
the charter of the NATO-Moscow relations. The idea of the summit of the five
participants was also rejected by Italy, but it is carefully supported by
Moscow.
February 8th
- Victor Tsernomirdin, Russian head of government can see
a possibility for Moscow and the West finding a mutually acceptable solution
in the question of NATO extension. Tsernomirdin said in his interview: his
discussions with president Bill Clinton and vice president Al Gore
convinced him that the dialogue has to be continued so that they understand
what can be expected from NATO extension.
February 10th
- The leaders of the neutral Moldavia are pressing NATO to provide
Moldavia and the neutral countries in general with safety guarantees - said
Javier Solana, secretary general of the organisation in Chisinau.
He said that before the planned extension of NATO he was not only interested
in Moscow's opinion but also in the opinion of the other members of the community
of states. The leaders of Moldavia are watching it with concern that neighbouring
Romania is striving to join NATO. Mikhail Popov, minister of foreign
affairs expressed his hopes that the extension plans of NATO would encourage
Romania to conclude a basic agreement with Moldavia.
February 11th
- Putting off the extension of NATO would create a continuous tension
and it would cause uncertainty in the heart of Europe - said Madeleine
Albright in the committee of foreign affairs of the US house of
representatives. The minister of foreign affairs expressed it more determinedly
than ever before that it is out of question to replace the North Atlantic
Organisation with something else, to merge it into another organisation or
to transform it so that its all embracing collective safety character would
cease.
February 12th
- ÆWhy should the British government that is not very enthusiastic
about the European monetary union to be introduced in the future undertake
the obligation to protect Hungary?" - Hugh Hanning, vice president
of the British Atlantic Council put up this question to support his opinion
that the planned extension of NATO Æis a dangerous nonsense which seems
to be unstoppable".
February 13th
- As the extension is approaching NATO wants to find out in the course
of the round-trip of the chief secretary what Moldavia and the Caucasian
republics, as the neighbours of Russia, think about that the price of the
extension might be the inspection of the traditional disarmament agreement
- implies the Komsomolskaia Pravda, a Moscow paper, a hidden intention behind
the visits of Javier Solana.
- Javier Solana, secretary general of NATO was surprised to hear
the charges of Moscow that the aim of his trip around the four CIS republics
- Moldavia, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan - is to isolate Russia and to
put hindrances in the way of the integration within the community of states.
Solana, emphasising that the given countries invited him to his round trip,
repeated in Jerevan: NATO does not want to isolate anybody and they by no
means want to interfere with the relations between the member countries of
the CIS.
- Igor Rodionov, Russian minister of defence is of the opinion
that after a short period of easement there is a danger of the relations
becoming cold again because of the eastern extension of NATO. At the same
time he declared: Moscow can accept the eastern extension, if NATO undertakes
it with a compulsory document that they shall not position atomic weapons
or troops on the territory of the new member states either at present or
in the future.
February 14th
- The Slovakian Parliament accepted the resolution proposal submitted
by the fraction of the Movement for Democratic Slovakia about a national
referendum on the NATO membership of the country. The head of state is obliged
to announce it within thirty days and to determine the date of the referendum
within 90 days.
February 16th
- According to Zbigniew Siemiatkowski, Polish minister of
foreign affairs, the Russian secret service is planning scandals to discredit
the country's government and to prevent Poland from joining NATO and the
European Union.
- The questions of Romania's NATO integration were discussed at the meeting
of the Highest Council of Defence which was presided by Emil
Constantinescu, head of the state. First of all it was emphasised by
the committee that the fundamental aim of Romanian foreign politics is to
provide the conditions for Romania's European and Euro-Atlantic integration
Æon a completely improved new basis".
February 17th
- The USA and Germany find it especially important that an agreement
be achieved with Russia before the NATO summit to be held in Madrid in July,
so they will use every possibility of dialogue between Russia and the West.
It was announced by Madeleine Albright, American and Klaus
Kinkel, German minister of foreign affairs at their press conference
in Bonn and at the same time they emphasised that NATO would by all means
stick to the set agenda of the eastern extension and that a decision would
be made in the Spanish capital city about the first group of new members.
- Bulgaria also expressed their intention to become a member of NATO
so they require to be invited to the Summit of the organisation in July -
stated the temporary government of Sofia in their declaration.
- The extension of the European Union is an extremely important process
which should not be considered as a kind of compensation or consolation prize
- said Madeleine Albright, US minister of foreign affairs in the centre
of the European Committee in the course of a short discussion with Jacques
Santer, president of the committee and the members of the committee.
Hans van den Broek, member of the Committee responsible for foreign
politics and Eastern European affairs emphasised that according to the European
judgement the future extension of the EU and NATO are parallel but independent
processes.
February 19th
- Russia is still against the eastern extension of NATO. It was expressed
to Klaus Kinkel, German minister of foreign affairs, by all his
negotiating partners from president Yeltsin to Rodionov, minister
of defence.
February 21st
- Madeleine Albright, US minister of foreign affairs negotiated
with president Yeltsin about the acceleration of the preparation of
the agreement between the NATO and Russia. The leader of American diplomacy
talked about significant progress at her press conference, but she did not
hide that there is still a lot of work to do before the Nato summit in July.
The American minister of foreign affairs announced that in the forthcoming
period they would accelerate the efforts for the elaboration of the agreement
between NATO and Russia. Her colleague, Jevgenij Primakov added to
all this that though Russia is against the extension of NATO, they try to
do everything they can to moderate the complications deriving from it.
February 23rd
- There are still differences of opinion after the discussion between
Javier Solana, secretary general of NATO and Jevgenij Primakov,
Russian minister of foreign affairs, but it is promising that there is an
obvious effort for agreement from the Russian part as well - they said in
Brussels.
February 27th
- Moscow should not have the illusion that the negotiations with
NATO could slow down the extension of the organisation. The North Atlantic
Organisation intends to name at least three Central European countries to
be accepted at the summit of the organisation in Madrid in July, if the
collaboration agreement with Russia is not concluded by then - written in
the International Herald Tribune, the English daily published in Paris.