NATO expansion imminent

The Czech Foreign Minister states that NATO could shortly have seven new members from Eastern Europe.

Jan Kavan, the Czech Foreign Minister, declared after his meeting with his Romanian counterpart, Mircea Geoana, that at the forthcoming NATO Summit in Prague, seven new members could be invited from the group comprising Albania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania.

He stated that the Czech Republic favours the adhesion of Romania, while Mircea Geoana confirmed that Romania will support Prague in its bid for the Presidency of the next session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

The three countries from the region to have already joined NATO are Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, in 12th March, 1999.

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.Ru