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SUBJECT [Apr 5] NATO Ministerial Meeting, Speaker of Czech Parliament meets Armenian Ambassador, new Estonian Speaker of Parliament
DATE 2019-04-05
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PHOTO: NATO. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addresses Foreign Ministers of NATO member countries.

 

Seventy years ago today (April 4), representatives of a dozen countries gathered in Washington, DC to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). To mark the anniversary, Foreign Ministers from NATO member countries gathered in Washington DC from April 3-4. North Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov also attended the event, ahead of what North Macedonia hopes will be full membership in NATO by the end of the year.

 

Addressing security in the Black Sea region, Ministers agreed a new package of measures to enhance NATO’s situational awareness and strengthen support for the Alliance’s partners in the region, Georgia and Ukraine. This support could include training for maritime forces and coast guards, port visits and exercises, and sharing information.

 

Ministers also discussed Russia’s ongoing violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Allies reiterated their call on Russia to return to full and verifiable compliance with the Treaty, and discussed the way forward should Russia not return to compliance. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed that any response would be “measured and coordinated,” and while NATO has no intention to deploy ground-launched nuclear missiles in Europe, NATO will continue to “maintain credible and effective deterrence and defense.”

 

In the next session, Ministers addressed NATO’s role in the fight against terrorism, and the efforts of the United States to seek a political settlement in Afghanistan. Ministers also discussed progress in the fight against ISIS, and how NATO is adapting to new terrorist threats and tactics, such as the use of small drones. The Secretary General stressed that NATO will continue to work with partners in the region, training local forces in the fight against terrorism.

 

Ministers concluded their meeting with a discussion on fairer burden-sharing in the Alliance. The Secretary General welcomed Allied progress, including four consecutive years of rising investment in defense. “Since 2016, European Allies and Canada have added $41 billion dollars to their defense spending; by the end of next year, this will rise to $100 billion,” he said. Mr. Stoltenberg noted that Allies are not only spending more, but also investing in new capabilities and deploying more forces for NATO.

 

 

 

 

PHOTO: Patrick Semensky/AP Photo. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (center), accompanied by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (left) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (right) in a Joint Meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington.

 

Earlier on April 3, NATO Secretary General addressed a joint meeting of U.S. Congress, the first time a NATO Secretary General has done so. In his speech, he emphasized that burden sharing in NATO must be fair to remain a strong alliance. He also met with President Trump and took part in a “NATO Engages” conference in his three-day visit to the United States.

 

 

 

 

 

President of the Chamber of Deputies of Czech Parliament Radek Vondrácek (right) with Armenian Ambassador to the Czech Republic (left).

 

Armenian Ambassador to the Czech Republic Ashot Hovakimyan on April 3 met with President of the Chamber of Deputies (lower house) of the Czech Parliament Radek Vondrácek.

 

Speaker Radek Vondrácek welcomed the Ambassador and expressed readiness to be actively engaged in the Armenian-Czech inter-parliamentary relations and his sympathy to Armenia’s new parliament and ongoing democratic processes in the country.

 

The Armenian Ambassador thanked the Speaker of Chamber of Deputies for the adoption of the resolution by the Chamber in 2017 condemning the Armenian Genocide. He presented Armenia’s foreign policy priorities, in particular highlighting the developing partnership with the EU, and in this regard emphasized the necessity of ratification of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by the Chamber of Deputies as soon as possible. The Ambassador highly valued the high level of the Armenian-Czech inter-parliamentary ties, the dynamics of mutual visits of parliamentary delegations, expressing hope that Radek Vondrácek will visit Armenia in the near future.

 

The Ambassador also introduced Vondrácek on the recent developments over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process.

 

 

 

 

 

PHOTO: Kroonika. Henn Polluaas was elected as Speaker of Estonia’s parliament on April 4, 2019.

 

A populist lawmaker has been elected as speaker of Estonia’s parliament on April 4 as the Baltic country’s legislature convened for the first time since March 3 general elections.

 

Henn Polluaas of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party, or EKRE, known for its anti-immigration and euroskeptic stance, was elected Thursday in the 101-seat Riigikogu assembly.

 

EKRE, which captured 17.8% of the vote to become the country’s third largest party, is in talks with the left-leaning Center Party and conservative Fatherland to form a three-way government.

 

If that succeeds, it would be the first time in recent Estonian history that populists have joined a government.

 

 

 

BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr)