President Lennart Meri had a meeting with the U.S. State Secretary Madeleine Albright on Thursday, April 22, in Washington. On the meeting, where also the Latvian President Guntis Ulmanis and the Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus were present, the developments in Kosovo and the NATO enlargement issues were discussed.

State Secretary Madeleine Albright underscored that the NATO Summit in Washington would go further than the Madrid decisions, and that the United States of America would actively support the implementation of the open doors policy.

President Meri mentioned that the solution of the problems of Kosovo is of great importance and significance to NATO, to which State Secretary Albright agreed. Meri spoke of Estonia’s readiness to send a unit to Kosovo among the international troops led by NATO.

President Meri spoke of the importance of defence co-operation between the Baltic States. As the Estonian President said, the co-operation between the Baltic States is more successful than ever before.

The U.S. State Secretary and the Presidents of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania made a common statement to the press.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, April 23, 1999

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