Fischer in Washington: Prague wants to play role in deciding future direction of NATO

The Czech prime minister, Jan Fischer, says his country wants to play an active role in deciding the future direction of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. He made the comments in Washington on Wednesday after talks with the Czech-born former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright, who is heading a committee drafting a new NATO mission statement that will be presented to the alliance’s head Anders Fogh Rasmussen by the end of this month. Mr Fischer called on Mr Rasmussen to ensure that the debate on NATO’s future involved all its members, adding that the Czechs wanted to and were prepared to take a proactive role in the process. The Czech Republic became a member of NATO in 1999.