Re: "Schuster wins US support vow", By Martina Pisárová, Vol. 8 No. 23, June 17-23
After President Schuster met on June 7 first with President Bush and later with Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, he attended a reception at the Slovak Embassy jointly sponsored by the Embassy and the Friends of Slovakia (FoS), an organization dedicated to the development of friendly relations between our two countries.
I attended a pre-reception gathering of approximately 20 large contributors to FoS as we met with President Schuster. As I shook President Schuster's hand, we looked each other in the eye and I said to him in Slovak: "Welcome to America, Mr. President. Please do not let Mečiar form the new government. It is very important for Slovaks."
He replied (also in Slovak): "Don't worry. You can sleep well." A few moments later he presented brief remarks to our small group. Among the things he said (in English) was that he had heard concerns from some people during his visit about the possibility that Mečiar might return in the next government. He said that Slovakia's entry into Nato and the European Union were of utmost importance, and that he thought it unlikely that the make-up of the new government would hinder this goal.
David P. Frankel
