Today at noon at Kadriorg President Lennart Meri conferred the 3rd class order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land (Maarjamaa Rist) to Ronald Dietrich Asmus. The President thanked Ronald Asmus who has shaped the Baltic policy of the USA and has recommended the extension of NATO already before it was more widely discussed.

According to President, Mr Asmus has an essential role in the popularisation of NATO and in the creation of relations between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and the United States. And these thanks are not only for what he has done so far, but Ron Asmus is currently writing a book that will have an important effect on shaping the US policy for guaranteeing the security of Europe and through that also the security of the Baltic states.

Ron Asmus thanked the President on behalf of himself and his wife for the great honour and reminded his earlier meetings with the heads of Estonian governments together with the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott. According to Ron Asmus his work will not be completed before Estonia has joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

Ronald Dietrich Asmus is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of European Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, and the President adopted a decision on 12 April 2000 to confer to him a 3rd class order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land (Maarjamaa Rist) for the services rendered the state of Estonia.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, May 24, 2000

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