President Lennart Meri received Dr. Emil Kuchar, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Slovak Republic, who came to present his credentials, in Kadriorg at noon today.
Kuchar, the first Slovak Ambassador to Estonia, forwarded to the Estonian President the greeting of the Slovak President Rudolf Schuster and said that it is a great challenge for him to contribute to the co-operation between the two states aspiring towards the same goals, and that he would try to be equal to it.

President Meri remembered his meeting with President Schuster on the Yalta Summit in the beginning of September, where the states who had been mere objects of history on the first Yalta meeting, which took place half a century earlier, declared that they would allowe no further decisions to be made behind their back. As president Meri said, it is important that after a period of consideration, Slovakia has chosen the European way of development; as the President said, the re-introduction of the term Central Europe would be important and advantageous for both Estonia and Slovakia, as Eastern Europe only starts with the eastern border of Estonia.

On the meeting of the Estonian President and the Slovak Ambassador, also further co-operation in the field of accession to NATO and the European Union was discussed, as well as the need to create a strong basis of agreements for the co-operation of the two countries. The President and the Ambassador also discussed the Estonian and Slovak history, especially the fact that in World War II, both the Estonians and the Slovaks were forced to fight on two opposite sides.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, September 30, 1999

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