Washington, 18 November 1997 (RFE/RL) - The State Department says the United States is pleased by the endorsement of Hungarian voters for their country's membership in the NATO military alliance.
Spokesman Lee McClenny says the outcome of Sunday's referendum on NATO was an unmistakable signal of the Hungarian people's desire to join the North Atlantic community, and to retake their place in the Western family of nations.
Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland were invited last summer to join the alliance by NATO's 16 members. Expansion of NATO into Central and Eastern Europe must still be approved by the legislatures of NATO's members.