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Lord Robertson
discusses key issues with Germany
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Lord Robertson met with German government officials in Berlin on
1 October to discuss a number of key issues, including German support
following the 11 September terrorist attacks, Germany's lead role
within Task Force Amber Fox in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
(1) and NATO-Russia relations.
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Exercise
Exchange Adventure 2001
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One of the largest NATO exercises to be held in Southern Europe
is taking place, 1-25 October. Exercise Exchange Adventure 2001
is taking place in North-West Turkey, where high readiness forces,
and more specifically, NATO's Immediate Reaction Task Force (Land)
have been deployed and are training.
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Invocation
of Article 5 confirmed
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Frank Taylor, the US Ambassador at Large and Co-ordinator for Counter-terrorism
briefed the North Atlantic Council - NATO's top decision-making
body- on 2 October on the results of investigations into the 11
September terrorist attacks against the United States. As a result
of the information he provided to the Council, it has been clearly
determined that the individuals who carried out the attacks belonged
to the world-wide terrorist network of Al-Qaida, headed by Osama
bin Laden and protected by the Taleban regime in Afghanistan.
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President
Kwasniewski at NATO HQ
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The President of Poland, Aleksander Kwasniewski, met with Lord
Robertson on 2 October, the day NATO took the historic decision
to fully invoke Article 5 of the Washington Treaty in response to
the terrorist attacks against the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon,
11 September.
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President
Putin meets Lord Robertson in Brussels
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On his first trip to Brussels, President Putin of Russia met with
NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson at the Palais d'Egmont on
3 October.
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Change of
command for KFOR
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Lt. Gen. Marcel M. Valentin of France assumed command of the NATO-led
peacekeeping force in Kosovo on 3 October. He is succeeding to Lt.
Gen. Thorstein Skiaker of Norway, who had held the position since
6 April 2001.
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ATA Annual
Assembly in Bled, Slovenia
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The annual assembly of the Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA) took
place in Bled, Slovenia between 3 and 6 October, and was addressed
by, among others, Slovene President Milan Kucan and NATO Deputy Secretary
General Alessandro Minuto Rizzo.
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Statement
by Lord Robertson on implementation of Article 5 following terrorist
attacks against US
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Following its decision to invoke Article 5 of the Washington
Treaty in the wake of the 11 September attacks against the United
States, the NATO Allies agreed today -- at the request of the United
States -- to take eight measures, individually and collectively, to
expand the options available in the campaign against terrorism.
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New democracies
and Euro-Atlantic security
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A Summit on the Contribution of New Democracies to Euro-Atlantic Security
was held in the Bulgarian capital Sofia from 4 to 5 October. Representatives
from the "Vilnius Group" discussed new threats to
global security following the terrorist attacks against the United
States. The Vilnius Group includes Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia (1) - all of which
are actively seeking membership of NATO, except for Croatia.
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One year
before the Prague Summit
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"NATO's new agenda: one year before the Summit"
was the theme of an international conference organised in Sofia on
4 and 6 October, on the occasion of the Summit on the Contribution
of New Democracies to Euro-Atlantic Security which was held in the
Bulgarian capital the next day. The main topics of discussion were
NATO enlargement, NATO's role in the Balkans, NATO-EU cooperation
and more generally, security and stability in Europe in the 21st century.
A roundtable on "NATO vs global terrorism" was also
organised.
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Exercise
Destined Glory 2001 curtailed
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An annual maritime, air and amphibious exercise called "Exercise
Destined Glory 2001", which started on 5 October, has been
cut short. The naval assets being used to train NATO high readiness
forces have been re-assigned to the Eastern Mediterranean in support
of Article 5 operations.
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- Turkey
recognises the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.
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