NATO colonel: Lithuania will never be alone, it is safe to live

I’ve been living here for almost three years now, people keep asking me if it’s still safe to live in Lithuania. And my answer is always the same: yes, he said at the meeting on Thursday in the Seimas.

You are safe, we are NATO and we are safe together, said a NATO officer.

He quoted former US President George Bush in Vilnius in November 2002, who said that the long night of fear, uncertainty and loneliness will end, you are joining the strong and growing ranks of NATO, and the courageous people of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will never be alone again in the face of aggression.

His odes 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 states 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 comprehensive 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 said.

Leader of the Seimas: NATO must adapt to the threat

Speaker of the Seimas, Viktorija milyt-Nielsen, asserted that due to membership in NATO, Lithuania lived in a period of relative stability, which allowed to focus attention on economic growth and social progress.

But it is also true that we have been deceived by our results. Although sometimes we like to remind our allies of the words “Are we not telling you?”, we must admit that even in Lithuania, the echo of Russian aggression near Sakartvel 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, facilitated by Russia’s war on Ukraine, aiming to destroy the European security architecture supported by international law and the strengthening of the authoritarian state, it is necessary to double, and if necessary, triple our defense efforts. According to her, all allies should once again confirm their mutual commitment to collective defense.

The most important thing is that there is political will to defend and the ability to constantly adapt to changing security. Let’s hope that the anniversary NATO Washington meeting will be another step towards a safer, more stable and fairer world, she said.

Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Seimas, Ygimantas Pavilionis, will ask why NATO is needed if it does not lead Ukraine.

According to him, the Alliance was created in 1949 in order to defend Europe from the threats of the Soviet Union, to preserve freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The parliamentarian pointed out that this is exactly what Ukraine is fighting for now, that is why the Central European and Baltic countries accepted by NATO, maybe Finland is leading the way.

However, the logic was not applied to Ukraine in any way. Because V. Putin said in Munich in 2007 that NATO’s logic should not be applied 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 also added Budapest in 1994, said a member of the Seimas.

After a few months, NATO still faces the test of the Washington NATO summit, and we still have two choices for Ukraine: to go the way of Central Europe and the Baltics, Finland and Vedia, the path of peace, stability, free and indivisible Europe, or Munich, Bucharest, maybe at the end Putin’s way, he said.

. Pavilionis said he will make sure 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.

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