President Lennart Meri received Sir John Kerr, the Permanent Under Secretary of the Foreign Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in his Paslepa residence yesterday. President Meri and Mrs. Helle Meri gave a dinner in honour of Sir John Kerr and Lady Kerr.

On the meeting with the Estonian Head of State, Sir Kerr confirmed that Estonia's preparations for the EU-accession were successful, and presumed that the reforms inside the EU would by no means become an obstacle to the enlargement.

As the Permanent Under Secretary of the British Foreign Office said, the smooth progress of the accession negotiations has become even more important after the current crisis in Russia, as the enlargement of economically stable region is in the interests of both the Member States and the candidates, and favourable preconditions for this also exist.

As it is equally important to ensure democratic development, Sir Kerr emphasised in this connection that the integration of non-Estonians still remains one of the key issues for Estonia; he also pointed out that the EU expects the complete fulfilment of all the OSCE recommendations.

As to NATO enlargement, Kerr's personal opinion was that at the moment, the costs of the enlargement have become a priority issue for the NATO member states and that no names will be named as yet on the Washington Summit in 1999. The current developments in Russia and the situation in the Near East were also discussed in the meeting.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, September 23, 1998

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