The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša, accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Dimitrij Rupel, and the Minister of Defence, Karl Erjavec, attended the NATO Summit in Riga in Latvia. The Prime Minister said that at this meeting NATO had determined its role in the new situation arising after the end of Cold War and terrorist attacks which had changed the world substantially.
Photo: BOBO/Kristina Kosec
As the Prime Minister said at a press conference, the main topic of discussion was the transformation of the Alliance. Thus, the Heads of State and Government adopted several documents at the Summit, but what is crucial is the overall political direction of future NATO operations. NATO declared the full operational capability of the NATO Response Force, which is supposed to be deployed to crisis areas within five days of a decision being made. According to the Prime Minister, NATO has thus gained an instrument with which it can respond to security challenges not only with political policies, declarations, security consultations, and relatively slow action when it comes to the deployment of forces and resources by national countries, but also with its own capacities. “Slovenia has fulfilled its obligations, and contributed its share to the declaration of full operational capability,” stressed the Prime Minister.
The Riga Summit can be placed between the Brussels mini-summit in February 2005, where the somewhat loosened Euro-Atlantic ties were consolidated again, and the 2008 Summit, which will probably be marked by an assessment of NATO’s transformation in view of the upcoming 60th anniversary of the Alliance, and almost certainly by future enlargement as well. “The Riga Summit confirmed the NATO open door policy. No concrete decisions on future enlargement were taken, but despite this, Riga fulfilled certain expectations. Macedonia, Croatia and Albania received a clear message that they would be invited to join NATO if they meet all conditions,” said the Prime Minister.
It is important for Slovenia, as an advocate of the open door policy and the further enlargement of NATO, that after rather demanding negotiations, a decision to invite Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia to join the Partnership for Peace was taken. In the conclusions of the Summit, there remains the obligation of these countries to cooperate with the Hague International Criminal Court.
Photo: BOBO/Kristina Kosec
The Heads of State and Government also put great emphasis on the cooperation of NATO with the 18 non-member countries currently participating in its operations. The Summit thus confirmed the intention of further developing closer cooperation with countries in existing partnerships (the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council/Partnership for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue, the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative) as well as with Contact Countries (e.g., Japan, Australia, South Korea). The significance of closer cooperation with international actors that have capabilities that could complement NATO efforts was also confirmed. Of particularly special importance is the cooperation of NATO with the EU, which is also significant for Slovenia in terms of avoiding duplication.
Most attention was devoted to Afghanistan. A consensus was reached on intensifying operations there, and on doing everything to assure the required security conditions for the final stabilisation of the country. “We also stressed that the military element of activities alone is not sufficient, which is why assistance is also needed in the development of this country, the building of institutions, the strengthening of civilian activities and democracy, and in economic cooperation, which alone can ensure sustainable development,” said the Prime Minister.
Photo: BOBO/Kristina Kosec
At the Summit, the Slovenian Prime Minister stressed that NATO has to continue to play its positive role in Kosovo also in the next, crucial period, and spoke on behalf of a constructive response by the Alliance to the proposals of Marti Ahtisaari regarding the role of NATO in the period after a decision on the status of Kosovo has been taken.
This Summit also confirmed a NATO initiative on training in the Middle East. On this occasion, Slovenia emphasised that training constitutes important added value by NATO in post-conflict areas; Slovenia participates in the training of Afghan and Iraqi army. “NATO has no desire to be a permanent occupying force anywhere, but wants the countries it assists to stand on their own and thus take responsibility for their own safety,” the Prime Minister concluded.
