"The Informal Meeting of NATO Defence Ministers in Portorož has proved that NATO was a vibrant organisation, capable of reaching real decisions in real time," said PM Janez Janša today following bilateral meetings with Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the NATO Secretary General, Donald Rumsfeld, the United States Secretary of Defense, and Sergei Ivanov, the Russian Defence Minister.
The PM addresses NATO defence ministers (Photo: Primož Lavre/Salomon 2000)
According to Mr Janša, the meeting provided decisions that will help stabilise the situation in Afghanistan, and saw the confirmation of the agenda for the autumn NATO Summit in Riga. "Many questions have been posed about enlargement, and the NATO Open-Door Policy has been approved; however, the Summit in Riga will not be an enlargement summit, meaning that there will be no concrete decisions on accepting new members. Steps will be taken to encourage countries seeking to become NATO members to consider reforming their defence systems," Mr Janša said after the meeting.
The PM meets Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, NATO Secretary General (Photo: Primož Lavre/Salomon 2000)
Against the backdrop of the meeting, the PM held three bilateral meetings. With Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the NATO Secretary General, he discussed Slovenia's participation in the Alliance, and the demanding tasks the country is facing next year as it engages its motorised battalion as part of the NATO peacekeeping forces in Kosovo, thus assuming full operational responsibility. "This will be the first time for Slovenia to participate in a NATO operation in this way. We have also talked about the need to reach a political decision on the future status of Kosovo, since this is a basis for successful peacekeeping operations in this region," the PM stressed.
The PM discusses current issues with Donald Rumsfeld, United States Secretary of Defense (Photo: Primož Lavre/Salomon 2000)
With Donald Rumsfeld, the United States Secretary of Defense, Mr Janša discussed Slovenia's engagement within the Alliance, and placed particular emphasis on the situation in SE Europe. "I told the Secretary of Defense that Slovenia and NATO shared an interest in Slovenia participating where feels it can contribute the most, which is definitely Southeast Europe, i.e. the Western Balkans with its hotspots, because we know the situation best. Our participation here can have the most effect. As a NATO member, we are aware of our wider responsibility, which is why we also participate elsewhere. Nonetheless, it makes sense for everyone to participate in places where they can contribute the most and where their contribution yields the most desirable effects," the PM asserted.
The PM also meets Sergei Ivanov, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of the Russian Federation (Photo: Arsen Perić/Salomon 2000)
The PM and his guest Sergei Ivanov, the Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minster of the Russian Federation, did not discuss only defence matters. During the recent visit of Mr Janša to Moscow, the countries signed an agreement on the cooperation of the defence ministries. The PM announced that in November a Russian battleship would visit Slovenia, and added that the ministries were also engaged in other forms of cooperation, one of them being the exchange of educational expertise. Mr Janša and Mr Ivanov also discussed economic cooperation, and established that this has improved since Slovenia's senior politicians, accompanied by a strong business delegation, visited the Russian Federation earlier this year. Concrete business talks are well under way, and there has also been an increase in mutual interest in investment. The PM stressed that some agreements have already been signed, and gave as an example the merger of Petrol and Lukoil. "In the coming years, when both countries are expecting to record even higher economic growth, new opportunities will emerge for economic cooperation between Slovenia and the Russian Federation, and we aim to take advantage of them," the Prime Minister concluded.
Address of the Prime Minister
