FM Rupel to Attend NATO Meeting
Foreign minister Dimitrij Rupel, who is attending the UN General Assembly in New York met the foreign ministers of Georgia, Iraq and Peru on Wednesday. He will also attend the ministers' NATO meeting which takes place on Thursday.
Rupel offered his Georgian counterpart Gel Bezuashvili the help of Slovenia's Centre for European Perspective.
The Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari meanwhile thanked Slovenia for all its help and support and said it was an important actor on the international scene regardless of its size.
The meeting with Peruvian foreign minister Jose Garcia focused on the EU-Latin America summit which is to take place during Slovenia's presidency of the EU in the Peruvian capital Lima. Garcia said he would visit Slovenia by spring next year.
The EU is an important partner for Peru and is making intense preparations for the summit. Consultations with Slovenia will also take place via Brussels and New York.
Regarding the NATO meeting, Rupel said that of most interest for Slovenia would be talk of the Partnership for Peace which Serbia is expressing interest in joining.
"Opinion over Serbia joining [the partnership] is divided. I believe it would be meaningful to let Serbia join as it needs the company of Western countries to help it overcome difficulties," Rupel said.
Asked whether he thought Slovenia would be called to increase the number of its troops in Afghanistan, Rupel said he did not expect any major changes to the mission. He mentioned that there may be talk of Europe engaging itself in Lebanon and he expressed the hope that Europe would help solve the crisis in the region.
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