“I’ve been living here for almost three years, people keep asking me if it’s still safe to live in Lithuania. And my answer is always the same: yes,” he said during the commemoration in the Seimas on Thursday.
“You are safe, we are NATO and we are safe together,” said a NATO officer.
He quoted US President George Bush, who visited Vilnius in November 2002, as saying that “the long night of fear, uncertainty and loneliness is over, you are joining the strong and growing NATO family, in the face of aggression the brave people of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will never again will not be alone.”
“His words are as true today as they were more than 20 years ago. You are not alone, Lithuania belongs unitedly and strongly to NATO, which now consists of 32 member countries and which will defend every centimeter of its territory”, the colonel asserted.
According to Mr. Nielsen, the new NATO regional defense plans approved last year are detailed and comprehensive, all units will be trained to implement them, and this will be the most effective deterrent imaginable.
“This will prevent Russia from attacking NATO,” the colonel emphasized.
Speaker of the Seimas: NATO must adapt to threats
Speaker of the Seimas, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, claimed that due to NATO membership, Lithuania went through a period of relative stability, it allowed to focus on economic growth and social progress.
“However, it is also true that we were lulled by our own success. Although sometimes we like to remind our allies the words “Didn’t we tell you?”, we must admit that even in Lithuania, the echo of Russia’s aggression against Sakartvelas in 2008 was not loud enough to force us to pay more attention to the defense of our country,” she said.
According to the Speaker of the Seimas, in today’s unstable geopolitical environment, marked by Russia’s war against Ukraine, aiming to destroy the European security architecture based on international law and the strengthening of authoritarian states, it is necessary to double and, if necessary, triple our defense efforts. According to her, all allies should jointly reaffirm their mutual commitment to collective defense.
“The most important thing is to have the political will to defend and the ability to constantly adapt to changing security challenges. Let’s hope that the anniversary NATO Washington Summit will be another step towards a safer, more stable and fairer world,” she said.
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Seimas Žygymantas Pavilionis asked why NATO is needed if it does not lead to Ukraine.
According to him, the Alliance was founded in 1949 in order to defend Europe from the threat of the Soviet Union, to preserve freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The parliamentarian emphasized that this is exactly why Ukraine is fighting now, because of which Central European and Baltic countries, and finally Finland and Sweden, were accepted into NATO.
“However, this logic was not applied to Ukraine in any way. Because in Munich in 2007, V. Putin ordered NATO not to apply this logic to Ukraine. Since then, Ukraine has been sold at least three times: in Bucharest in 2008, after the invasion in 2014, and – speaking without cosmetics – in Vilnius in 2023. I would also add Budapest here in 1994”, said the member of the Seimas.
“After a few months, NATO will again face a test – the NATO summit in Washington, where we once again have two choices for Ukraine: to follow the path of Central Europe and the Baltic countries, Finland and Sweden, the path of success, stability, free and indivisible Europe, or the ends of Munich and Bucharest in the end on Putin’s path,” he said.
Ž.Pavilionis said that he is convinced that NATO has no future without Ukraine and Ukraine without NATO.
Lithuania submitted its application for joining NATO on January 4, 1994, and on March 29, 2004, it became a full member of the Alliance.
