BALTS URGE CONTINUING NATO ENLARGEMENT AFTER MADRID.

Addressing the NATO Council in Brussels, Estonian foreign minister Toomas Ilves yesterday called for the issuance of a specific, written commitment at the upcoming Madrid summit regarding NATO’s intention to continue enlarging. A communique merely referring to NATO as an open organization under article 10 of its charter would be unconvincing, Ilves said. Only a continuing enlargement after the first round, and the inclusion of the Baltic states, would demonstrate that the Cold War is indeed over. "We are your allies, and our participation can not be construed as weakening the alliance," Ilves pointed out. In a parallel development, the Lithuanian parliament yesterday adopted an appeal to NATO to invite the three Baltic states — or at least one of them — to the Madrid summit in order to initiate the admission procedure immediately afterward. (BNS, April 24)

Lucinschi Sounds Alarm over Stopage of Reforms.