20 March 2002

Armitage to Bucharest to Show U.S. Support for NATO Enlargement

Will attend summit of Vilnius Group and NATO allies

Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage will travel to Bucharest March 25-26 to attend a summit of the ten countries aspiring to join NATO and will then visit NATO Headquarters in Brussels.

Armitage's participation in the Bucharest summit "will reaffirm U.S. support for launching a new and robust round of NATO enlargement at the Prague Summit in November 2002 and underscore U.S. commitment to President Bush's vision of a Europe 'whole, free, and at peace,'" said the State Department in the following notice announcing the trip:

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U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman
March 20, 2002

Notice to the Press

Travel Of Deputy Secretary Of State Richard L. Armitage To Romania And belgium

On March 24, Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage will travel to Bucharest, Romania, to attend a summit of the ten countries that comprise the Vilnius Group. The Deputy Secretary's participation will reaffirm U.S. support for launching a new and robust round of NATO enlargement at the Prague Summit in November 2002 and underscore U.S. commitment to President Bush's vision of a Europe "whole, free, and at peace."

"Bucharest Summit 2002: The Spring of New Allies" will take place March 25-26. Participants will include heads of government and senior officials from the countries of the Vilnius Group -- Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia -- as well as from many NATO Allies.

The summit will provide an opportunity for the Deputy Secretary to urge the aspirant countries to continue their efforts at democratic, economic, and military reforms in order to make themselves the best possible candidates for the next round of enlargement.

On March 26, the Deputy Secretary will travel to NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, where he will review the summit and progress of the aspirant countries with the members of the North Atlantic Council (NAC).