Ivan Gašparovič – head of the Slovak delegation at NATO summit

From the 2nd to 4th April 2008, President Ivan Gašparovič attended the NATO summit in Bucharest as the head of the Slovak delegation.

At the summit the Slovak president declared that the Slovak Republic does not think of its membership in the Alliance only as a membership in an organisation protecting Slovakia’s security. Slovakia desires to be a member contributing to the Alliance’s ability to effectively defend world peace and fight against terrorism. At the same time the president confirmed Slovakia’s support for “the open door” policy which should help to extend the zone of stability and security in Europe. One of the main topics discussed at the summit was the stability of the Western Balkans.

Despite the perception of current issues, Ivan Gašparovič thinks that the stability of the Western Balkans can be achieved much more effectively with Serbia – which is at the moment, paradoxically, a country “covered” the least by European and Euro Atlantic integration. Ivan Gašparovič explained to his NATO partners Slovakia’s standpoint in respect of Kosovo’s independence. “The Slovak Republic does not make it a secret that is has issues in respect to accepting this step. It is a very sensitive matter for us”, the president said. Not only due to an ambiguous interpretation of this step in accordance with international law, but also due to increasingly urgent statements about the need to use the Kosovo precedent to support autonomy efforts by other national minorities in the Central European region.

According to the Slovak president, one of the reasons for Slovakia’s standpoint is also the new line of reasoning by the Romanian member of the European Parliament László Tökés - who presents within the Carpathian Basin Autonomy Council which associates political parties and organisations from Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Croatia. However, there is a tendency to condition stability and security of the neighbouring countries by guaranteeing minorities autonomy. It is here that Kosovo is used as an example. Withholding such autonomy is considered both a security and a political risk for the neighbouring countries, Ivan Gašparovič quoted a Hungarian politician from Romania.

At the meeting of the North Atlantic Council the president praised the developing cooperation with the European Union. “However, we can not be satisfied with the current situation, first and foremost as far as the political dialogue between the two organisations is concerned,” he said. The Slovak president also explained to his partners from NATO the standpoint of the Slovak Republic regarding the intention of the USA to place in the Czech Republic and Poland European elements of the national missile defence system. According to Ivan Gašparovič, the Slovak Republic appreciates that this project is being consulted with the Alliance.

At the summit, Ivan Gašparovič also attended the meeting of the North Atlantic Council with Afghanistan. “Slovakia considers the mission of the North Atlantic Alliance in Afghanistan an important task which the Alliance must fulfil,” the president stated.
According to Ivan Gašparovič, putting off the invitation for Ukraine to join the Action Plan of the NATO membership is not a Kremlin victory. The president declared this opinion after the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission on the last day of the NATO summit in Bucharest.

Regarding the clash of opinions over Ukraine, where it is thought to be either a victory for Russia or for NATO, the Slovak president said: “I think that it is something in between. It is a conditional confirmation of Ukraine if it manages to meet the conditions. It cannot be considered Russia’s victory,” Ivan Gašparovič noted.