NEWS
Slovenia is a significant and reliable partner of the NATO Alliance
Ljubljana – Today, PM Janez Janša hosted the NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. They discussed realising the conclusions of the NATO Summit in Chicago, the current situation in Syria and Afghanistan, and tasks awaiting countries regarding the withdrawal of forces from the latter by 2014, as well as NATO enlargement, particularly to the Western Balkans, NATO partnerships and the Smart Defence approach in which respect NATO has been implementing some reforms.
According to PM Janša, the agreement at the Chicago Summit with regard to ensuring security during economic crisis and severe budget restraints in member countries was “very good“. The agreement also confirmed the Smart Defence approach and announced the interim missile defence capability. At the Summit, additional agreement was reached on Afghanistan. “With regard to Afghanistan, Slovenia remains faithful to the principle of into action together – out together, which means that we will remain in Afghanistan with our contingent until the end of 2014, the conclusion of the NATO mission. After 2014, we are prepared to offer a different type of aid to the Afghan security forces, so that they can provide for the safety of their people,“ said the PM Janez Janša, adding that giving aid to Afghan security forces will be much cheaper than providing for security in Afghanistan by sending our own troops there.
With regard to the situation in Syria, the PM stressed that Slovenia supports the call for the Syrian authorities to end its mass violation of human rights and violence against the civilian population, and supports all the measures of the international community for the protection of the civilian population and the measures envisaged within the scope of the plan proposed by Kofi Annan in this regard. “We are in favour of the international community increasing the pressure in order to reach a peaceful solution as soon as possible,” said the PM. The NATO Secretary General explicitly stressed that the main goal of the Alliance is to resolve the situation in the area peacefully and by political means.
According to the PM, one of the major elements of NATO’s partner policy remains its open door policy, in which Slovenia is particularly interested, as it is in the country's particular interest that the Alliance be extended to include the countries of the Western Balkans, provided they meet the conditions and criteria. “We believe that membership of these countries in the NATO Alliance is a major contribution to security and stability in the region and one of the conditions for the entire region's economic progress,” said the PM Janša.
According to the PM, NATO's presence in the Western Balkans is the extremely important guarantee of stability. He assesses the Alliance's co-operation with the countries of the Western Balkans as positive, highlighting the contribution of numerous countries which are not yet NATO members to ensuring safety, stability and peace in the world.
The PM went on to thank NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, saying that in the last period under his leadership, the Alliance has been strengthened as a key tool for achieving peace and stability in the world and much greater security. “Without NATO, at this time, the world and the North Atlantic area would be much less safe and stable,” said the Slovenian PM.
The NATO Secretary General stressed Slovenia's major role in the accession of new or aspiring members. He said that Slovenia as a NATO member is a good example of what a country can achieve with hard work, which is not always the easiest. “This can make it a good role model for other countries in the region,” said the NATO Secretary General.