Transcript: Amb. Hunter April 2 News Conference on NATO in Estonia

Tallinn, Estonia -- The United States proposes continuation of "individual intensified dialogues" between NATO and countries that are interested in joining the Alliance "so they will know precisely what are the best steps for them to take to move in the direction of membership," says U.S. Ambassador Robert Hunter, U.S. permanent representative to NATO.

When NATO holds its summit in Madrid in July, "we will invite the first few countries to open negotiations with us to become full members of NATO," Hunter told a news conference in Tallinn, Estonia, April 2.

"We have not yet decided which countries will join us on this occasion, or which countries will, if they choose, have an opportunity to join NATO later," he said. "But we will very definitely make clear that, however many we invite this summer to join NATO, the door to NATO membership will remain open."

Hunter, who spoke to journalists at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the effort to build a new security in Europe "clearly involves Estonia."

Following is a transcript of the news briefing:

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AMBASSADOR ROBERT HUNTER
U.S. PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO NATO
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Tallinn, Estonia
April 2, 1997 AMBASSADOR HUNTER: Thank you very much.

It's an honor to be here in Tallinn, Estonia, today and particularly to be here with my brother ambassador, Lawrence Taylor. We have a greeting card company in America called Hallmark, and I'm going to steal their slogan: "President Clinton cared enough about Estonia to send our very best." So it's an honor to serve with him, as he represents the United States in this great country.

This is my first visit to Estonia. I'm sure it won't be the last. I've come here because of the importance of what is happening in this country and has happened since you regained your full independence a few years ago, an independence, I'm pleased to say, that my country had always honored since you first achieved it in 1918. What you are doing here is truly remarkable. We honor it, and we believe that this country has a right to be fully engaged in the West, in the outside world, taking your rightful place within all the institutions of the Euro-Atlantic World. You were one of the first members of Partnership for Peace, a flagship institution at NATO. You are playing an extraordinary role within that institution, including being of help to the people of Bosnia through your contribution to the Stabilization Force there. It's only a few individuals but, both symbolically and substantively, they are very important.

This is a very important year in NATO's history. We're holding a summit in July, at which we will do several things. First, we will invite the first few countries to open negotiations with us to become full members of NATO. We have not yet decided which countries will join on this occasion, or which countries will, if they choose, have an opportunity to join NATO later. But we will very definitely make clear that, however many we invite this summer to join NATO, the door to NATO membership will remain open.

The position of the United States is absolutely clear: We believe the door to membership must remain open so long as there are European countries ready and willing to bear the responsibilities of NATO membership. We see this country as an important part of the NATO family, whether you remain for a time just a member of the Partnership for Peace, or looking toward that time when you do become a NATO member.

At the Madrid Summit, we will also be augmenting the Partnership for Peace, giving even more opportunities for countries to be engaged with NATO. We will be inaugurating this spring a new Atlantic Partnership Council, which will enable members of the Partnership for Peace to have a greater say in how the partnership will work and exactly what each country will be doing with us.

We will undertake a number of other developments, including a new relationship with Russia. We believe it is very important to draw Russia out of its isolation of three-quarters of a century, in order to play a full, active and positive role in European security. We are thus negotiating a special relationship with Russia in which we are inviting it to work directly with NATO -- playing by the rules of European security, just like everyone else, if they will do so. Let me be very clear: We are creating this relationship with Russia, as we are also creating a special relationship with Ukraine, in an open, transparent manner, in which the interests of all other countries will be fully protected. We are prepared to give Russia a voice, but not a veto over NATO deliberations. NATO will take its own decisions about who joins, about what NATO will do in its own activities.

So, in sum, this is an extraordinary moment for the Alliance and for all the countries of Europe, to try to complete the work that began 50 years ago with the Marshall Plan, with the effort to build a new security in Europe. That clearly involves Estonia. What you have done and what you will continue to do underscores your role, your place, and your future as an honored country within a wider international community, a Euro-Atlantic community of nations, and within the NATO family. Again, it's an honor to be here and to take your questions. Thank you.

MODERATOR: I'll take the first question, and let me remind you to please state your name and your media organization and speak into the microphone, if you will.

QUESTION: Mart Linnart, Radio Free Europe. During the previous week, when Congressman Solomon was here and it was written that, in the first wave of NATO enlargement, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic will probably be included, it is possible that some of the member states of NATO will try to veto the enlargement. In that case, he said, then the United States said it probably could leave NATO and give up its membership. Was this his personal opinion, or is it the position of the United States? Thank you.

AMBASSADOR HUNTER: Thank you for your question. I wasn't present when Chairman Solomon was here in Estonia, and so I don't know his precise words. Let me just say that the United States is fully committed to keeping the door to NATO membership open. We're going to fight for that principle. We are going to do what we have to to ensure, as I've said, that all European countries ready to bear the responsibilities of NATO membership will at some time or other have a chance to join NATO as full members. And we are going to work with each and every one of these countries to help them, if they want, to deepen their relationship with NATO, to become even more engaged with us, to become, step by step, more deeply engaged in the work of NATO and other Western institutions. I have no doubt that that is going to happen, and we're going to fight for it.

QUESTION: Paavo Palk, Baltic News Service. (Estonian) Foreign Minister Ilves said on his recent visit to the United States that a second wave of enlargement would happen in 1999. What is your opinion on when the next wave should happen?

AMBASSADOR HUNTER: At NATO, we have not yet had a formal discussion of which countries should be invited this year to join NATO. We have not yet had a discussion about the manner in which we will proceed to take in more countries later on. Clearly, this is going to happen. Clearly, the United States is committed to it. As to the precise timing, this is something that has to be worked out. My country is committed to making sure that the door remains open to all the countries who are interested in joining, and that we will move forward deliberately in that direction.

QUESTION (Paavo Palk, BNS): May I ask a follow-up question? When do you think this will be clear, and you think the principles of new enlargement will be worked out?

AMBASSADOR HUNTER: Between now and the summit, we will have very intensive discussions at NATO so that, when we arrive at the summit, not only will there be some countries who are invited to open negotiations now to become full members, but it will also be made clear to all the other countries that are interested exactly what their opportunities are with NATO. Some of it will be to continue working even more closely with us in an augmented, expanded, Partnership for Peace. Some will be to join a new Atlantic Partnership Council, which will be decided this spring and inaugurated either at or before the summit. My government proposes the continuation of what we call individual intensified dialogues, that is, direct discussions between NATO and countries that are interested in joining the Alliance, so they will know precisely what are the best steps for them to take to move in the direction of membership. We will also be presenting the principle and, I hope, the practical aspects, of the door to NATO membership remaining open. We want all these countries to know that, if we are prepared to work to increase the security of any one country, this must also work to increase the security of all. It would make no sense if we were to try to include some nations and to push others away. We reject the idea of grey areas, of buffer states, of spheres of influence. In fact, we reject the idea -- the failed idea of some 350 years -- of the balance of power. So by the time we get to Madrid, we wish to make very clear that countries which are not invited immediately will have their opportunity to become full members of the NATO family over time.

MODERATOR: Time for another question.

QUESTION: Andrew Kuusk, TV3. My question is not about NATO enlargement. Maybe you will comment on the contract signed today by Russian President Yeltsin and Belarus President Lukashenko. Do you see any danger of this contract undercutting democracy?

AMBASSADOR HUNTER: I haven't seen the details of the agreement between Russia and Belarus so I can't comment in detail. Let me just say that what we at NATO and we in the United States are trying to do together is to build security for all countries in Europe, in which every country has a chance to become more secure and none becomes less secure. Clearly, we will have to judge this new arrangement in light of the basic principles that we think need to govern future relations on the Continent.

QUESTION: Mart Linnart, Radio Free Europe. The American press has mentioned that there is a treaty which in its contents will give the Baltic states some security guarantees. But less is known about that treaty here. Could you please say a few words about that?

AMBASSADOR HUNTER: My government, along with other NATO governments, are very much concerned that people here in Estonia -- as well as Latvia, Lithuania and other states of Central Europe -- understand that we are fully committed to their proper place in the outside world and to their proper and rightful place in European institutions, including security institutions. We want to make very clear to your people, to our people, to everyone, the nature of the relationship between the United States and the Baltic countries, the importance of drawing you into multilateral institutions, the importance of working constructively with Russia to put relations with it on a very sound footing. So my government is taking initiatives in discussions with your government and your sister republics to the south. We welcome the ideas of the Estonian government and the other republics, and we think we can build this together into a very effective partnership -- a lasting partnership of democracies here in Central Europe.

MODERATOR: Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.

AMBASSADOR HUNTER: Thank you very much.

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