Foreign Minister Paet Met with Leader of Working Group for New Strategy Albright
17.09.2009
During his meeting in Washington with former US secretary of state
and leader of the working group for NATO’s new strategic concept
Madeleine Albright, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet emphasised that Estonia
completely supports the position of President of the United States
Barack Obama at the NATO summit, namely that every NATO member state
that desires a defence plan should have one.
Paet and Albright agreed that the bases for NATO’s work are
collective defence and Article 5, though the other aspects of the
Washington Treaty must not be neglected. Paet and Albright emphasised
that now that the United States has decided not to establish the
bilaterally agreed-upon missile shields in the Czech Republic and
Poland it is essential to resolve the situation on the NATO level with
the participation of all the member states.
“The basis for the new strategic concept must be Article 5 as well
as NATO’s visibility, trustworthiness, and the clear presentation of
its abilities,” stressed the Estonian foreign minister. “NATO must be
prepared to protect its territory and ensure its safety through
operations and missions outside the alliance. This includes dealing
with new threats,” Paet added.
Paet stated that it is necessary for the NATO foreign ministers to
discuss the results of the working group led by Albright regarding
NATO’s new strategic concept this upcoming spring in Tallinn. Albright
emphasised that prior to that, extensive work would be done by the
group of experts she is leading, which includes the common
representative of the Baltic nations, former Latvian ambassador to NATO
Aivis Ronis.
Paet also had a meeting today at the Pentagon, where co-operation
between Estonia and the USA in the security sector was discussed with
representatives of the United States Department of Defence. “Estonia
would like to continue such close co-operation with the United States
in NATO and in other international formats,” Paet stressed. “Working
together in Afghanistan, which is an essential destination for the
military and civilian contributions of both our countries, is an
example of co-operation between Estonia and the United States of
America,” he noted.
Foreign Minister Paet also participated in a discussion in
co-operation with the Center for Strategic and International Studies
(CSIS). The discussion, during which Paet presented along with former
ambassador of the USA to NATO Kurt Volker, focused on various aspects
of transatlantic co-operation, for example co-operation in Afghanistan,
the NATO strategic concept, and energy and cyber security.
Tonight Paet will open the Estonian Honorary Consulate in Houston.
