USA: US SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE ALBRIGHT PRESS CONFERENCE
(10 Apr 1997) English/Nat U-S Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says NATO will go ahead with its expansion plans at the Madrid summit, whether Russia is ready for it or not. Albright made the comments after meeting the U-N Secretary General Javier Solana in Washington for talks. The U-S Secretary of State also confirmed the U-S government was still actively involved in negotiations over the Middle East peace process. In between meetings with the NATO Secretary General and Palestinian negotiators, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright addressed a group of American newspaper editors. Foremost on most of their minds was NATO expansion and the Mid-East peace process. Addressing the issue of NATO enlargement, Albright said the process appears to be moving forward. Saying the alliance must build a strong and enduring partnership with all of Europe's democracies, Albright reiterated the importance of Russia's involvement. SOUNDBITE: "It is very important to integrate Russia into the West...to make very clear that we are on the same side. And the NATO-Russian charter will provide a mechanism to bring Russia to the table, to have a voice, but not a veto." SUPER CAPTION: U-S Secretary of State Madeleine Albright Russia and NATO have clashed over plans to expand the alliance to include former Soviet block countries. On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov announced Russian President Boris Yeltsin may come to Paris by the end of May to sign a treaty with NATO if such an agreement is ready by then. Albright said she hopes the charter will be ready and signed next month, but added that even if it is not, the process of NATO expansion will go on. SOUNDBITE: "Foreign Minister Primakov indicated today, or yesterday, that he would like to have a signing of such a document in May, we would like to have that be so, but whether it is ready or not, we will go forward with NATO enlargement in July." SUPER CAPTION: Secretary of State Madeleine Albright As Secretary Albright addressed questions from newspaper editors, she was preparing to meet shortly afterwards with a delegation of Palestinian leaders. Albright told the crowd that she and President Clinton are working very intensively on the Middle East process. SOUNDBITE: "In recent days the president and I have been consulting intensively with the parties and will continue to do so. Arab-Israeli peace remains a top priority for the Clinton administration. The stakes are high and we will do our utmost to get this process back on track. At the same time the parties must do their share and make the decisions that are required to restore faith in the negotiating process and in one another. SUPER CAPTION: Secretary of State Madeleine Albright Albright said Israelis must be able to see that terror will not be used against them. But she was vague in her speech about what the administration is asking of Israel. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
