RFE/RL NEWSLINE
Vol. 1, No. 8, 10 April 1997
UPDATE ON SLOVAK RESPONSE TO HAVEL STATEMENT.
Vladimir Meciar has denied that recalling the Slovak
ambassador to the Czech Republic for consultations will
worsen relations between Bratislava and Prague. Speaking on
Slovak TV last night, he said the recall is a "normal democratic
step." The move came one day after the Slovak government
demanded an apology from Czech President Vaclav Havel for
saying in an interview with Le Figaro last month that Meciar is
paranoid about Slovakia's being excluded from NATO
expansion. Meciar hinted he might retaliate by making public
the five-year-old transcripts of talks with Havel on dissolving
the Czechoslovak federation. Meanwhile, Sme quotes former
Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan of the opposition Democratic
Party as saying that recalling the ambassador can "only harm"
Slovakia. Slovakia's Hungarian Christian Democratic
Movement says the current dispute between Prague and
Bratislava is "far from sufficient cause to react in such a
manner"
NATO OFFICIAL IN BUDAPEST. NATO Deputy Secretary-
General Norman Ray says new members of the alliance from
Central Europe will be free to buy Russian military equipment,
Reuters reported. Ray told journalists that NATO has no
centralized control over armaments planning, budgeting, or
procurement. He said the main criterion for prospective
members will be their ability to work within the alliance,
regardless of the source of their military equipment. Ray was
in Budapest for discussions with Defense Minister Gyorgy
Keleti.
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