NATO Membership Counts, Says Defence Minister

Ljubljana, 1 November - Projects that the Slovenian Defence Ministry has embarked upon in the run-up to the NATO summit in Prague are mainly wrapped up; preparations for procedures after the anticipated membership invitation are already underway. "We are ready," Defence Minister Anton Grizold said in an interview for STA less than a month before the Prague Summit. Rebuffing some criticism and second thoughts about NATO entry, Grizold is convinced that Slovenian membership counts, and notes that "Slovenia needs to set things straight and say whether we have taken the path of development and thus accept mainly positive, but also some negative consequences, or whether we will remain stuck".