THE US Secretary of Stat, Mr Warren Christopher, said yesterday that Nato was determined to take in new members from former Warsaw Pact countries in central and eastern Europe and would do so despite Russian objections.
Speaking in Prague, Mr Christopher said the process of Nato enlargement was on track and that those hoping to come on board would not be kept "in the waiting room for ever".
At the same time, he insisted that Russia was not to be excluded from what he hoped would evolve into an undivided Europe and that it, too, had a "positive contribution" to make to the continent's security.
Mr Christopher's remarks came as Nato's Secretary General, Mr Javier Solana, spent a day trying to put the alliance's case in Moscow, where there is fierce opposition to enlargement. The Secretary of State will tomorrow seek to reduce Russian anxieties in meetings with President Yeltsin and other senior officials.
While stressing the desire not to isolate Moscow, Mr Christopher said that the integration of central Europe into western structures such as Nato and the European Union would neither determine nor be determined by events in Russia.
He was critical, moreover, of what he termed a "dark vision of the future" presented by the Russian parliament, which last week - voted in favour of reconstituting the old Soviet Union. "History must not be reversed," he said. ". . . No nation in Europe should ever again be consigned to a buffer zone between great powers, or relegated to another nation's sphere of interest."
Mr Christopher's words of reassurance were well received by his Czech hosts and the foreign ministers of a further 11 central and east European countries who had flown to Prague to hear them. Although some would have liked him to have gone further - outlining a timetable for Nato admission - they were relieved to hear here that no delays were envisaged.
Having produced a detailed study on the "how" and "why" of Nato enlargement last year, members of the military alliance are this year considering the questions of "who" and "when", with answers expected to be forthcoming at a key meeting in December.
Mr Christopher did not specify which countries were likely to join first, but they are widely believed to be Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
The prospect of seeing its former Warsaw Pact vassal states joining Nato has horrified many in Russia.