NATO20: Schuster: Slovakia Had to Earn Accession to NATO

Kosice, March 28 (TASR) - Slovakia had to earn its right to join NATO and improve its reputation, then president Rudolf Schuster has told TASR on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Slovakia's NATO accession, adding that Slovakia wouldn't even be in the European Union without NATO membership. "At the time when I was assuming presidential office, we were isolated, no foreign figures were paying visits to Slovakia - no ministers, presidents or royal visits. First we had to iron out all the bad things that had been done before," stated Schuster. Schuster therefore travelled abroad more often and also invited foreign delegations. "We explained to them that we were seriously interested in joining NATO and that we'd meet all the conditions," said Schuster, adding that the aim was to persuade NATO-member countries that Slovakia was different from their view of it. The ex-president found contacts to be very important, feeling great support within the V4. He was also a personal friend of then Czech President Vaclav Havel, Hungarian head of state Arpad Goncz and Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski. At that time they were great personalities who had something to say about the matter, as they were already in NATO, while we remained outside due to both the domestic and foreign policy pursued under the leadership of then premier Vladimír Meciar," he said. According to Schuster, Slovakia wouldn't be a EU member if it hadn't joined NATO. "All the post-communist countries had a condition - to learn democracy, or at least they explained it to us like this: first join NATO, then the EU," he said, adding that he was lucky to be present for both [events]. ko/df