For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 23, 2004
Statement on Ceremony to Mark the Enlargement of NATO
Statement by the Press Secretary
South Lawn Ceremony to Mark the Enlargement of NATO
On March 29, 2004, President Bush will welcome to the White House
the Prime Ministers of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania,
Slovakia, and Slovenia, as well as the NATO Secretary General, for a
meeting and ceremony marking the formal accession of these nations to
the North Atlantic Treaty on that day. President Bush will also
welcome the Prime Ministers of Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia, the
three nations seeking NATO membership and participating in NATO's
Membership Action Plan.
These Central and East European democracies have already acted as
Allies through their strong solidarity and actions in the war on
terrorism, and in helping to strengthen peace and democracy in
Afghanistan and Iraq. As NATO acts to face the new challenges of the
21st century, the membership of these seven nations in NATO will
advance the cause of freedom, and strengthen the Atlantic Alliance, the
central pillar of transatlantic relations.
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