RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol 2, No. 197, 12 October 1998

CZECHS, HUNGARIANS LOOK TO BRING SLOVAKIA BACK INTO
FOLD. During talks on 9 October, Czech President Vaclav
Havel and Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi
agreed of the need to help get Slovakia included into
the first group of European integration, CTK reported.
Havel and Martonyi said closer cooperation among the
Visegrad Four--Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and
Slovakia--should resume. Czech Premier Milos Zeman also
promoted the idea of upgrading Bratislava's status in
the eyes of Western institutions during meetings with
Martonyi the same day. And he proposed that Slovenia be
added to the group. PB

NATO ASKS HUNGARY FOR USE OF AIR SPACE. NATO has
formally asked Hungary to make its air space available
in the event of a military operation against Yugoslavia,
Hungarian media reported on 12 October. Prime Minister
Viktor Orban said he discussed the issue with both U.S.
President Bill Clinton and Defense Secretary William
Cohen during his trip to the U.S. last week. Orban said
he made it clear that granting such a request is
conditional on NATO guaranteeing Hungary's security in
the event of Yugoslav retaliation. An extraordinary
session of the parliament on 13 October will vote on
NATO's request. MSZ

ROMANIA'S FOREIGN MINISTER PRAISES HUNGARIAN-ROMANIAN
TIES. Andrei Plesu praised the strong relationship
between Bucharest and Budapest, saying it is recognized
internationally as an exemplary model of bilateral
cooperation, MTI reported on 11 October. Plesu was
interviewed by the Hungarian news agency ahead of a
Hungarian-Romanian intergovernmental committee meeting
in Budapest on 13-14 October. Plesu said he is pleased
that the Hungarian government allowed the Hungarian
Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) to make its own
decisions about participating in the Romanian
government. He added that the UDMR's role in governing
the country serves as a bridge in relations between the
two countries. PB

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