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Baltic States: Iceland's President Pleads NATO Case




Washington, 24 July 1997 (RFE/RL) - The White House says U.S. President Bill Clinton and Iceland's President Olafur Grimssom met Tuesday in Washington to discuss European security and other issues.

Grimssom told reporters later that he urged Clinton to support the eventual inclusion of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Iceland, a NATO member, supported the U.S. effort to limit expansion to the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. The Baltic states, as well as several other Central and Eastern European countries, are eager to join.

NATO has said the first group of new members will not be the last, but no timetable has been set for a second round of invitations. Grimsson said he believes the alliance will be flawed unless the rights of all European states are respected.
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