President Lennart Meri received Klaus-Peter Klaiber, the Deputy Secretary-General of NATO, in his Paslepa residence yesterday and offered him dinner.

In his conversation with the Estonian Head of State the Deputy Secretary-General of NATO recognised Estonia's prominent success and stressed that during the next months the visits of the North Atlantic Treaty members to Estonia and other contacts with the representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Ministries of Defence would be useful, so that the NATO Member States would be better informed of Estonia's impressive economic and political development since 1991.

The Deputy Secretary-General of NATO said that as yet no decision has been made on the next round of enlargement, and therefore Estonia should thoroughly consider the opportunities to enlighten her positions.

NATO-s co-operation with other countries participating in the Partnership for Peace programme was also discussed on the meeting. Klaiber was satisfied with the accession preparations of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, and characterized NATO-s dialogue with Russia. He confirmed that despite the current developments in Russia the sixteen NATO Member States would do everything to keep up the smooth co-operation with the Russian military.

On the meeting, President Meri emphasised Estonia's wish that the accession prospects of the Baltic States would be clearly expressed on the Washington Summit.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, September 2, 1998

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