NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, declared Monday, in Brussels that the discussions at the upcoming Bucharest Summit will centre on the overall relations of the Alliance with the Balkan Region. Three countries in the region – Albania, Croatia and Macedonia – expect to be invited to join NATO on the occasion of the Summit. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer also added that he wishes to "fully make use" of the cooperation between Serbia and the Alliance in the Partnership for Peace, in order to help it to get over the "frustration" generated by Kosovo's newly declared independence. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer made these assertions after a meeting with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Javier Solana. However Solana did not offer concrete examples of how NATO could intensify its cooperation with Serbia. He also stressed that Serbia is "a very important player in the region". "NATO's relations with this region are very important, including the ones with Serbia" added Scheffer. Serbia signed a NATO Partnership for Peace agreement at the Riga Alliance Summit, in November 2006, agreement establishing a cooperation framework for the countries that seek accession.
(Source : Rompres)
