President Drnovšek holds talks with the President of the Brookings Institution
Davos (Switzerland) , 01/26/2003 | press release
President Drnovšek today met Strobe Talbott, president of the influential Brookings Institution and former US Deputy Secretary of State.
In their conversation, they largely focused on the presently most topical issue of Iraq. President Drnovšek expressed his concern at the influence this issue has on relations between the USA and Europe and on the Euro-atlantic partnership.
Strobe Talbot believed that not every possibility for a peaceful solution to the crisis and for a concerted UN and Security Council approach in this respect had yet been exhausted.
President Drnovšek and Strobe Talbott also touched on the situation in South-Eastern Europe. President Drnovšek pointed out Slovenia’s increasingly active role in the region, where it is a major investor.
At Mr Talbott’s request, President Drnovšek gave the Slovene assessment of the situation in some South-Eastern European (SEE) countries. Mr Talbott was of the opinion that despite the challenges the region still faced, the situation had significantly improved in recent years. He believed that the recent NATO invitation extended to Slovenia, Romania and Bulgaria would positively influence further developments in all other SEE countries as well.
At the end of the conversation Mr Talbott invited Dr Drnovšek to give a speech at the Brookings Institution during his next visit to the USA.