On April 24, 1997, Sejm Marshal Józef Zych received Ljubomir Frckoski, the minister of foreign affairs of Macedonia.
They talked about bilateral relations and international issues. "Independent Macedonia, with settled relations with its neighbours, is an important stabilising factor in that part of the Balkan region," Zych said after the meeting. He added that Poland attached much importance to cooperation with Macedonia on the principles of partnership and was ready to share with it its own experience concerning the preparations for membership of NATO and the European Union.
"We cannot choose neighbours so we try to arrange relations with them in the best way possible," the Macedonian minister said. His country is interested in closer cooperation with Poland and welcomes the prospect of the opening of a Polish embassy in Skopje.
On April 29, Sejm Deputy Marshal Olga Krzyżanowska met with Guntis Ulmanis, President of the Republic of Latvia.
Krzyżanowska said after the meeting that there were no contentious issues between Poland and Latvia, whether with regard to Polish-Latvian relations or the question of building a new European order. She emphasised that Poland was aware that Russia was trying to block the process of NATO's enlargement, both in the case of Poland and of Latvia. However, no country may decide about a foreign policy of another sovereign state.
The two also raised the problem of Belarus. Ulmanis concurred with Krzyżanowska that Poland and Latvia cannot support the developments in that country but they could neither leave Belarus to itself.
Another topic raised was the situation of the Polish minority in Latvia. A third of the 60,000 Poles living there have not received Latvian citizenship yet. The President explained that it would not be practical to enact special laws with the Polish minority in mind. The matter calls for a peaceful approach, Latvia's good will is there and the problem will be resolved within a short period of time.
President Ulmanis also met with Senate Deputy Marshal Zofia Krzyżanowska and discussed the problems of the Polish minority with her.
Daniel Passent, the newly appointed Polish Ambassador to the Republic of Chile, paid a courtesy visit to Sejm Marshal Józef Zych on April 24.
On the same day, Marshal Zych received a farewell call from Italian Ambassador Giuseppe Balboni Acqua.
The second part of the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, attended by a Polish parliamentary delegation headed by Deputy Tadeusz Iwiński (SLD), was held in Strasbourg from April 21 to 25.
The topics of the session included:
- the conflict in the Caucasian region;
- the impact of new technology on the development of democracy;
- the advances of economic reforms in East-Central Europe;
- the situation in Albania;
- the trade in women and forcing them to engage in prostitution in Council of Europe member states;
- the European air transport policy.
On April 29, workshops on the strategy the countries seeking admission to NATO must employ were held at the Sejm, organised by the London International Institute of Strategic Studies.
The main topics discussed were the relations between the prospective members and Russia, the degree of readiness for membership and possible risks to the fluency of the process of NATO enlargement. The meeting was one of an informal nature, It was attended by scientists, NATO experts and representatives of parliaments and the ministries of defence of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Rumania and Poland.
The question of the NATO-Russia agreement and relations between Russia and future Alliance members aroused the greatest emotions. The Western experts were encouraging the aspiring members to seek agreement and forms of active cooperation with Russia.
The speakers pointed out that the public, both in the NATO countries and the aspiring countries, was not prepared for the enlargement of the pact yet.
Polish Sejm deputies and senators met with members of the Foreign Affairs and Defence committees of the Italian Senate in Rome on April 5-6, 1997. The Italian parliamentarians said they supported Poland's aspirations for NATO membership. This is not to say, however, that the ratification debate in the Italian Senate over Poland's admission will receive unconditional support. Some Italian senators emphasised that while the recognise the right of the post-communist countries to joint NATO, the enlargement of the Pact could not take place without an agreement with Russia.
The Polish side, including deputies Bronisław Geremek (UW), Janusz Onyszkiewicz (UW) and Longin Pastusiak (SLD), emphasised that Poland's admission should be seen as the final rejection of the Yalta division of Europe. They stressed Poland's successes in arranging its relations with its neighbours. They also pointed out that Russia is not without allies (the Tashkent agreement) and that Poland was not protesting when it was being extended to embrace Belarus as well.
Referring to Italian senators' statements, Geremek assured them once again that Poland's admission to NATO was in the interest of European security. He contested the view that no former Soviet republic should be admitted to the Alliance in the future and firmly objected to attempts to divide NATO members into first- and second-class members.
Secretary general of the House of Commons Donald Limon visited Poland from April 20 to 24. He stopped in Cracow and Warsaw. He was received at the Sejm by Marshal Józef Zych and senior officials of the Sejm Chancellery.
He got acquainted with the Chancellery's work. He and his hosts noted considerable similarities in the structure of the departments of the House of Commons and the Chancellery's bureaux. Limon was especially interested in the Sejm's efforts to provide parliamentary education for the youth.