BULGARIA JOINED NATO IN BIGGEST EXPANSION ROUND

Bulgaria, together with six more former Soviet-dominated nations, became full-fledged NATO member in the most ambitious expansion in the Alliance history.
Bulgaria's Prime Minister Saxe-Coburg was the first to submit the accession document to the US government in Washington March 29.
Prime ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia handed in the ratification papers of their countries to US Secretary of State Colin Powell at about 12:30 p.m. local time.
Powell stressed on the fact that the new members had once been dominated by the Soviet Union. He praised them for "breaking the chains" of communism, and for carrying out crucial democratic reforms.
The accession of the seven new countries brings the 55-year-old alliance membership to 26.
A few hours later the seven prime ministers were welcomed by President Bush at the White House, in the Oval Cabinet. The ceremony was presided by him along with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.
I expect that we will work together for a better, more peaceful world, Bush said in his address. He also thanked the seven nations for contributing to world's anti-terror fight.
NATO, created 55 years ago to counter communism during the Cold War, is adding 200,000 military personnel to its existing 2.8 million as it seeks to fight terrorism. NATO aims to create a rapid-reaction force, to reach full operational capability by October 2006, that will be able to move 20,000 troops anywhere in the world in as little as a week.
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