Official Visit of the United States Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
Rumsfeld: Slovenia Can Make Meaningful NATO Contribution
Brdo pri Kranju, 23. November 2002
United States Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld praised Slovenia's
partnership in the global war against terrorism on Saturday as he paid
an official visit to the country in the wake of the NATO summit in
Prague. Rumsfeld labelled the decision to invite Slovenia, along with
six other Eastern European countries to join NATO, as both
"important and historic" and said he expects that Slovenia
would be able to make a meaningful contribution to the Alliance.
Speaking to the press following talks with top Slovenian officials,
Rumsfeld said that his visit to the country was a chance to discuss
the process that is going to take place between now and the time
Slovenia gains formal NATO membership. This is expected to take place
in mid-2004. Issues of Slovenia's contributions to the "Alliance
of like-thinking nations" and its defence budget were also
discussed during the defence secretary's first official visit to the
country. Slovenia's Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek told reporters that
today's talks with Rumsfeld reflected the "milestone that Prague
represented for Slovenia". He remained confident that public
support in Slovenia - a top issue for the administration as the
country prepares to go to a likely referendum on the issue - would not
pose a threat to its efforts for finalising membership, claiming that
the invitation would only raise support for the Alliance among
Slovenians.
"The public opinion polls exhibit positive trends and we
expect now that the invitation has been issued, support will only
increase," Drnovsek said. Asked why support was so low in the
first place - most polls indicate a divided population slightly in
favour of the Alliance - the PM suggested that uncertainty about a
repeat of the Madrid scenario of 1997, when Slovenia was not invited
to join NATO despite high hopes, and a feeling that "we are so
safe that we do not need to be part of this alliance" have both
contributed.
Discussing the possible contributions Slovenia, as a small country,
can make to the Alliance, Rumsfeld said that every country entering
NATO "is perfectly capable of making significant and highly
relevant 21st century contributions to the Alliance". In the case
of Slovenia, this may include "mountain training, peace keeping,
military police, field medicine, ordinance disposal," he
suggested.
"My impression is that the country is on a good track,"
Rumsfeld said as he touched on Slovenia's defence budget, an issue
that has been long considered Slovenia's weak spot. Rumsfeld
highlighted that it is up to each country to make its own decisions
"as to the level of their defence investment", adding that
he discussed the issue with Drnovsek. The Slovenian PM reiterated that
Slovenia is taking the necessary steps to reform its armed forces, a
process which includes suitable increases in defence spending.
During his stay in the country, Rumsfeld also met with Slovenian
President Milan Kucan and Defence Minister Anton Grizold. Before
arriving to Brdo castle - the site of the 2001 summit of
U. S. President George W. Bush and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin
- the U.S. official also paid a visit to a Ljubljana barracks,
inspecting a regiment of the Slovenian Armed Forces which is expected
to boost Slovenia's presence in the Bosnian peace-keeping mission.
However, during the visit to the barracks, some 20 anti-NATO
protesters staged a peaceful rally in front of the building. After
Rumsfeld left the barracks, the group dissolved calmly, reported the
POP TV network.
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