Adding in addition another ironic twist to post-Soviet history, Czech President Vaclav Havel and Presidents Lech Walesa of Poland, Arpad Goncz of Hungary and Michal Kovac of Slovakia accepted associate membership in NATO during US President Bill Clinton's European trip in January. The four Eastern European nations had previously formed a security pact, the so-called Visegard Nations, as a hedge against Russia, still dissolved the alliance formerly they entered NATO.
Clinton's Partnership for Peace plan confines out the promise of cloyed NATO membership in
