Yesterday, on May 15, President Meri and Mrs Helle Meri began their state visit to Slovenia, where President Meri and the delegation accompanying him were met by the Slovenian President Mr Milan Kučan and his wife in the Presidential Palace. The presidents had a private conversation, where the agenda of the next few days was briefly touched upon. In the evening, President Meri and his entourage were invited guests at the opening ceremony of the European Cultural Month Ljubljana 1997, where President Meri gave an address.

Today, on May 16, numerous meetings with senior Slovenian statesmen took place. In the meeting with President Kučan both presidents asserted the existence of very good bilateral relations between Estonia and Slovenia and underscored the countries` readiness for co-operation as well as mutual support for integration into the European Union and NATO. ”Estonia could serve as a secondary school for Slovenia, and Slovenia for Estonia,” President Meri said. The main attention at the meeting was focused on the questions of EU and NATO enlargement. Both Lennart Meri and Milan Kučan expressed similar views on the issues of European security in connection with EU and NATO enlargement. President Meri reiterated Estonia`s stance that the enlargement of the European Union must be based on objective criteria, and he was thoroughly convinced that each country acceding to the Alliance was to be considered individually, regardless of its geopolitical position. The President was resolute that geopolitical decisions had no place in the world. At a shared table an agreement was reached about bilateral exchange of information relative to integration into European structures. Co-operation with international organisations also deserved attention.

President Meri had further meetings with the Slovenian Prime Minister, Mr Janez Drnovšek, the President of the Slovenian parliament, Mr Janez Podobnik, and other public figures of Slovenia. At noon the signature of Estonian-Slovenian agreements on visa-free travel and on the recall of persons took place: Minister of Justice, Mr Paul Varul, signed for Estonia and Minister of the Interior, Mr Mirko Bandelj, for Slovenia.


Press Service of the President’s Office
Kadriorg, 16 May, 1997

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