President Ivan Gašparovič took part in the Summit meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Brussels

During the Summit, President Ivan Gašparovič met with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, as well as other leaders of the participating countries. After the Summit, he said that all participating NATO members had confirmed that the existence of the Alliance was necessary. Topics of the NATO Summit included the issues of Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East, Ukraine and the Balkans. In this context, Ivan Gašparovič expressed his pleasure over the agreement on new Trans-Atlantic relations between the European Union, NATO and the United States of America. In his opinion, this new dimension has the capacity to ensure peace, stability and security in the world. Mikuláš Dzurinda, who participated in the Summit together with the Slovak President, said that this means a restoration of unity of the North-Atlantic Alliance. President Ivan Gašparovič is pleased that NATO has no open issues nowadays. Nevertheless, the need for joint decisions at the Euro-Atlantic level was reaffirmed. “Today, no one doubted that the existence of the Alliance is necessary”, added the Slovak President after the NAC Summit. The Head of State is convinced that a closer co-operation between the European Union and the North-Atlantic Council is needed and, in order to ensure adherence to international law, institutions such as the UN and NATO will subsequently need to be reconstructed. Concerning the issue of Iran, Slovak President added that he was convinced that the Alliance would make no quick decisions. The Russian Federation’s position and opinion is also significant in this context. Ivan Gašparovič expects that the question of Iran will be clarified at the Bratislava Bush-Putin Summit.