(11 Feb 1998) English/Nat
U-S President Bill Clinton has formally asked the Senate to approve the planned expansion of NATO.
Speaking at a State Department ceremony on Wednesday, President Clinton said the incorporation of three former Warsaw Pact states will usher in a new era of security.
Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic have been allowed to join the transatlantic alliance in the first phase of its expansion into Eastern Europe.
In ceremony at the U-S State Department Wednesday, President Clinton signed the documents that would bring the total number of NATO states to 19.
The foreign ministers of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic looked on as they were
formally brought into the Western alliance
President Clinton said NATO had promoted a "common peace" in Europe since its formation after the Second World War.
He believed that bringing Eastern European states into NATO will give the organisation strength and provide a secure environment in which democracy and market economics can flourish.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Their addition to the alliance is not only a pivotal event in the quest for freedom and security by their own people. It is also a major stride forward for America, for the alliance, and for the stability and unity of all Europe. A big part of our dream that we can in the 21st century create for the first time in all history a Europe that is free, at peace and undivided."
SUPER CAPTION: Bill Clinton, U-S President
President Clinton said the inclusion of the three former Eastern-bloc nations drew a line under a bleak period of history.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"NATO's growth will erase the artificial line in Europe drawn by Josef Stalin."
SUPER CAPTION: Bill Clinton, U-S President
Other Eastern European states were unhappy to have been left out of the first wave of NATO membership.
Clinton was careful to hold out some hope that they will be allowed to join at a later date.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Our effort to build a new Europe also depends upon NATO's door open to other qualified European democracies. History teaches us that the realm of freedom in Europe has no fixed boundaries. The United States is determined that the visions of the past not circumscribe the boundaries of the future."
SUPER CAPTION: Bill Clinton, U-S President
Bulgaria -- which is rapidly upgrading its armed forces -- is currently lobbying to be included in a second wave of countries joining NATO.
Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov discussed NATO membership and other issues with President Clinton at a meeting Tuesday that included Vice President Al Gore and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
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