ISTANBUL (CIHAN) - The 17th summit of NATO was opened by speech of the Secretary General in Istanbul today. The two-day summit brings together the leaders of 26 NATO members and its 20 partners.
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said in his opening speech that the 26 countries are determinate to protect the security and territorial integrity of each other and are determinate to defend the values of NATO and to carry them into the future.
Stating that members have convened to give a new shape and new basis for NATO, Scheffer said that the decisions at the summit would show that the alliance has the political and military power to restore international security.
Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said that Turkey's active support for NATO would continue. Sezer said that the addition of seven new countries was an important step for an integrated peaceful and stable Europe. Sezer said that besides being a political and military alliance, NATO is a combination of the common values of its members.
Both Turkish President Sezer and the NATO Secretary General gave welcoming messages to the new NATO members including Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithonia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
After the morning session, NATO members' leaders, foreign ministers and defense ministers will meet at three working meals.
The NATO-Russia Council will convene in a meeting at the foreign ministerial level. The first day summit will end with a dinner at which nearly 800 guests will attend.