The United States appears in no rush to welcome the Baltic states into NATO.
Published:
12 July 1999 y., Monday
Talks with ministers from Baltic and Scandinavian countries instead focused on a long-term peace mission in Kosovo and the need to smooth relations with Russia. In a nine-country meeting of defense ministers, Defense Secretary William Cohen got an update on progress being made by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in modernizing their defenses, a key precursor to NATO membership. While assuring the ministers that a negative reaction from Russia would not preclude them from joining the alliance, Cohen did not appear ready to set a time table. "It_s too early to tell how this will unfold. We have to wait and see exactly what kinds of changes and reforms and modernization the Baltic states will undertake, whether they would qualify for membership in NATO,' Cohen said at a joint news conference after the talks.
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