Washington, 21 May 1997 (RFE/RL) - U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will spend next week in Europe, travelling to Paris, the Hague and Portugal for talks on NATO alliance expansion and U.S.-European relations.
Spokesman Nicholas Burns said yesterday that Albright will be in Paris next Monday and will joint President Bill Clinton on Tuesday for the signing of the NATO alliance agreement with Russia on how to manage their relations as NATO prepares to expand.
Burns says Albright will also travel with Clinton to the Hague on Wednesday for his meeting with European Union leaders.
From there, Albright will travel alone to Sintra in Portugal for the semiannual NATO ministerial meetings. At that meeting, Burns says the 16 alliance foreign ministers will review preparations for NATO's July summit in Madrid. That's when the alliance is expected to invite new members from Central and Eastern Europe.
On the weekend, Burns says Albright plans to visit Sarajevo for talks with Bosnian Muslim, Bosnian Serb and Croat leaders on U.S. concerns about implementation of the Bosnian peace agreement.