The President of the Republic of Slovenia held talks with the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
Ljubljana, 12/02/2003 | press release
The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Janez Drnovšek, today held talks with the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Mr Douglas Bereuter, who is also a member of the US Congress.
During the meeting, they discussed the preparations of Slovenia to enter the NATO Alliance, which Mr Bereuter considered excellent. He also congratulated Dr Drnovšek on a very convincing result of the referendum on membership of the North Atlantic Alliance, especially in the light of the difficult international situation at the time. Mr Bereuter also welcomed the fact that the spring session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in 2005 would take place in Slovenia.
The discussion also touched upon Euro-Atlantic relations. In this context, President Drnovšek expressed his regrets that we had witnessed certain tensions among members of the Alliance at the beginning of the year, as well as attempts to make member countries take sides regarding them. Dr Drnovšek stressed the importance Slovenia attached to the transatlantic partnership in maintaining world peace and security, and highlighted Southeast Europe as an area where the international community should continue its presence. In addition, he expressed his hope that the USA would not leave the Balkans, since it was their determined intervention in the past years that stabilised the region.