Leaving Slovenia Out of 1999 NATO Enlargement Was Historical Mistake, Hungarian Official Says

Washington, 2 May - The failure to invite Slovenia to join NATO in the 1999 round of enlargement was labelled by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban "a historical accident". "This entailed a disadvantageous consequence for Hungary: although the country belongs to the southern wing of NATO, it has no direct geographical connection with the alliance and became a sort of 'NATO enclave'," the Hungarian news agency, MTI, has quoted Orban as saying. The Hungarian Prime Minister spoke about NATO enlargement on Tuesday, 1 May, during his visit to Washington, D.C..