Prime Minister Drnovsek Meets with US President Bush in Washington

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek began his official visit to the U.S. on Tuesday, 14 May. During his visit, Slovenian Prime Minister met a number of senators and U.S. administration officials and was received by President Bush.

Bilateral relations between the U.S. and Slovenia, as well as NATO enlargement headed talks as Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek met with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday, 16 May. Powell would not give statements after the meeting, while Drnovsek stressed that the discussions proved to be very friendly and that the good relations between the two countries were confirmed by both.

Prime Minister Drnovsek was received by U.S. President George W. Bush in the Oval Office on Friday, 17 May. This third meeting of the pair and the Slovenian minister's second visit to the White House came ten years after the United States recognised Slovenia as an independent country.

"No candidacy has formally been backed, however considering what has been said, Slovenia's chances are very good," Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek said after a working meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush, unable to confirm whether his talks with Bush have shown that Slovenia would definitely be invited to join NATO at the Alliance's summit in Prague.

President Bush said that the current U.S. policy is not such as to favour particular NATO candidates, Drnovsek told the press, stressing, however that the visit to the White House, his meeting with Secretary of State Colin Powell and recent talks with U.S. senators and congressmen have shown that Slovenia has many friends in the U.S..

In general, the meeting with Bush confirmed that relations between Slovenia and the U.S. are "exceptionally good", Drnovsek said, adding that the situation in SE Europe and the fight against terrorism was also on the agenda. Talks also touched on last year's U.S.-Russia summit held in Slovenia, said the Prime Minister, where Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin set the foundations for new relations between Russia and the U.S..

The talks were also attended by Colin Powell and Bush's national security advisor Condoleezza Rice.

"I'd be very surprised if Slovenia is not invited to join NATO," Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek told TV Slovenija after meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington. He added that the referendum on joining NATO has not been on the agenda of talks in the U.S., however what has surprised the U.S. officials were news about the relatively low support for NATO membership. "They simply could not understand this, and they would like the support to be relatively good and reliable if we are to be allies and partners," he stressed.

Drnovsek thus explained to them that a proper debate on NATO is only just starting. After the experience in Madrid in 1997, when Slovenia expected an invitation but did not receive it, the authorities did not want to raise expectations too much. "It seems that now things are going the right way," he believes.

Addressing another issue often highlighted in debates on NATO membership, namely defence spending, the Prime Minister said that there is an expectation that Slovenia would build its army so that it would be useful for the country as well as for NATO.

Nevertheless, the Slovenian side has given no explicit promises, but only a kind of an assurance that we would gradually increase budget spending for defence, Drnovsek said, adding that the issue is also related to the decision to professionalise the armed forces, which will also contribute to bigger spending. These anticipations are in line with U.S. expectations, so this issue has been solved accordingly, Drnovsek explained.

Drnovsek concluded his assessment of talks in the U.S. by denying media reports that U.S. officials were displeased with the fact that the Slovenian government decided to purchase a civilian jet with defence funds. Not a word about this has been voiced, said Drnovsek, who believes this issue is "exaggerated".

Slovenia has great chances to become member of NATO although no formal decision about the membership has been made yet, Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek said at Brnik airport upon returning from the U.S. on Saturday, 18 May. As for future relations with NATO, Drnovsek told the press that this is a case of strategic, historic decisions and that he believes the Slovenians should make the right decision when offered the chance to join the Alliance. We have many friends in the U.S. and this has proven to be so during the visit, Drnovsek said, adding that Slovenia is now much better recognised there than it was a few years ago. "The U.S. is ready to accept us into the Alliance as its allies," the Prime Minister said.

Drnovsek added that the U.S. has been Slovenia's ally in WWII, and in the 1990 NATO in the Balkans provided Slovenia's security as well. Therefore, the Prime Minister believes that the historic decision to foster this alliance further, also within NATO, is important for Slovenia.

The Prime Minister labelled his visit to the U.S. as successful. The meeting with President Bush once again showed that the relations between the two countries are extremely good, according to Drnovsek.

Source: Slovene Press Agency STA