Meeting of NATO and Partner Countries, Heads of State and Government Madrid, 9 July 1997

Remarks by His Excellency Lennart Meri, President of Estonia Mr. Secretary General, dear colleagues, NATO's decision yesterday to enlarge by including the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland was a good one. We had an important meeting with President Havel, Prime Minister Horn and President Kwasniewski earlier this morning and I reiterated the Estonian position that we think it is a good thing that NATO has decided to invite these three new members. Obviously we would have liked to have been among these new members but I belive that even so NATO is onthe right path. The agreements with Ukraine and Russia have provided good groundwork and now it is logical that we build on this foundation. I salute the presence here of our Russian partners. Their path to Madrid has been a long and difficult one. I myself have listened to the anti-NATO propaganda which came from Radio Moscow during Soviet times. Therefore I can well imagine the difficult task faced by our Russian friends in breaking these barriers. I am convinced that your presence here today is very important. In fact, the process of NATO enlargement has already substantially contributed to the Alliance's mission of creating the "foundations for a stable security environment in Europe... in which no country would be able to intimidate or coerce any European nation or to impose hegemony through the threat or use of force", as outlined in the Alliance's Strategic Concept. The challenge now is, Mr. Secretary General, to keep going. We have built up some momentumover the past few years, we have grasped the opportunity offered by the fall of the Berlin Walland we have moved quickly indeed. But now is not the time to relax, because the structure is notfinished. Yesterday's Declaration shows the necessary far-sightedness on NATO's part andprovides for an excellent basis for further work. It is important that we build on this and that we now start looking towards the 1999 Summit to invite further new members. Many have acknowledged that Estonia has made substantial progress over the past few years in training its armed forces and in increasing their interoperability. Our economy has expanded rapidly and isone of the best performing in Central Europe. I thus believe that when the time comes for taking decisions on whom to invite for the next round, Estonia and its two Baltic neighbours will beamong the most serious candidates. Mr. Secretary General, dear colleagues, knowing that the Baltic states are a litmus test for European security, you made a good decision yesterday. I believe that it is fair to say that the Cold War will only finally be over when the Baltic countries have assumed their place behind the NATO Council table.