Lord Robertson speaks to aspirant countries

NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson, went on a two-day visit to Sofia, from 12-13 October. On his first day in the Bulgarian capital, he met with President Petar Stoyanov and Prime Minister Ivan Kostov, after which he addressed the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria on the subject of NATO's partnerships.

On the following day, he participated in the Working Meeting of Defence Ministers from the countries participating in NATO's Membership Action Plan (Albania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the former Yougoslav Republic of Macedonia¹), hosted by the Bulgarian Defence Minister Boyko Noev. Participants presented the progress made in their preparations for membership and their views on MAP. For his part, Lord Robertson gave clear messages: no new decisions on membership should be expected before the NATO Summit in 2002; between now and then, the opportunities provided by MAP should be used to their fullest extent; however, he cautioned, compliance with all conditions laid out in MAP will not automatically guarantee membership.

Lord Robertson continued by stressing the fundamental importance of defence reform. He explained that modern forces and defence capabilities are as beneficial to countries themselves as to the Alliance as a whole since there is a general need for smaller and more mobile forces, which can operate in a multinational environment. He reinforced his point by quoting Mr Noev who had once stated that "Cold War forces are a waste of money", adding that NATO was prepared to give its full support to help implement these changes.