President Lennart Meri had a meeting with Guntis Ulmanis, the President of Latvia, Valdas Adamkus, the President of Lithuania, and Aleksander Kwasnievski, the President of Poland, today in the Riga Palace.

On the meeting, the architecture of European security, the EU enlargement process, and the accession of the whole Baltic Sea region to both the EU and NATO were discussed.

According to the Heads of State, the Cologne Summit has added momentum to the continuation of the EU enlargement process. The summit recognised the success of Latvia and Lithuania that will enable these two Baltic States to start the accession negotiations already on the Helsinki Summit.

The four presidents reiterated that as a result of the Baltic co-operation the Baltic Sea countries have become the providers, not merely the consumers of security.

Speaking of the situation in Kosovo, the Heads of State agreed that the problems of Kosovo would certainly be a long-term issue.

The Presidents of Estonia, Lithuania and Poland were invited to Riga by the Latvian President Guntis Ulmanis in connection with his resigning from the post of the President.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, June 28, 1999

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