In the same week that Russia and China issued a joint statement
calling for a "multi-polar world," German Chancellor Helmut Kohl
met with President Boris Yeltsin to hammer out disagreements they
have on the NATO alliance in Europe. Following the meeting, on
April 18, Karlheinz Hornhues, Chairman of the Bonn Parliament's
Foreign Affairs Committee told reporters that NATO may work out a
deal with Russia on the alliance's eastern expansion in time for
a planned summit in Paris on May 27. He said that Yeltsin's
participation in the meeting showed that NATO's plans are no
longer viewed as a challenge to Moscow.
NATO has rejected Moscow's demand for a treaty barring
foreign troops and atomic weapons from the territory of new
members like Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, which are
expected to be invited to join the alliance this summer.
Following the meeting between Yeltsin and Kohl, Hornues
reiterated this. He said that NATO could not sign such a deal
because "it would make the new members second-class members."
Meanwhile, in the United States, Thomas Pickering, former
U.S. ambassador to Russia appeared before the U.S. Senate Foreign
Relations Committee and called for the U.S. to stand firm in its
demands for NATO's expansion. In his testimony, Pickering said
Russia is particularly concerned about Ukraine and the Baltic
states joining NATO. But he said the U.S. will continue to be
unflinching and firm about keeping NATO membership open "to all
democratic states." Pickering said the U.S. strongly supports a
Baltic accord to help prepare the Baltic states for closer ties
with the European Union and NATO.
Shawgi Tell
University at Buffalo
Graduate School of Education
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
