Dear Guests,
Excellencies Ambassadors,
Dear Colleagues,
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the Seimas to mark the date
which, I believe, is the most important date to our region – on the 29th of
March Lithuania will see the 5th anniversary of official coming into force of
the North Atlantic Treaty. Our state together with the other six Central and
Eastern European Countries gained its NATO membership, which translated not
only into Lithuania’s greater safety (provided by Article 5 of the Treaty) and
the air policing mission to the Baltic States, but into Lithuania marking
NATO’s 60th anniversary as an equal partner involved in the developments of the
democratic community of the Alliance, building and securing its future.
Lithuania’s road to its current status has been
a long one. The tragic history of our nation, its fierce fight for freedom in
the last century has only recently got a new assessment on the highest state
level: our independence, defended by the unity of our nation and its blood
spilled, was restored only two decades ago. The aspirations at an independent
and democratic republic were confirmed at the national referendum on 9 February
1991. With the alien army still in Lithuania, defending its fragile
independence was an issue.
Parliamentary diplomacy became one of those
instruments to draw the attention of the international community to the
situation in the Baltic States. Even though the dialogue started immediately
after the 11th of March (let me recall the 1st seminar
held by the then North Atlantic, now NATO Parliamentary Assembly, “Baltic
States Security Needs” in Vilnius in December 1991) when our parliament
building still lived with sand bags. The meetings with Western colleagues then
heard Lithuania’s clear decision: cooperation with NATO to get the guarantees
of political security. The eye-witnesses know best the temperature of the
discussions, with the leaders of the Soviet Army for the Baltic Region present
there, while we can judge about it from the eloquent fact that as a result,
unexpected to all the participants of the seminar, the gate to the Soviet
military camp in the northern part of Vilnius was opened to foreigners for the
first time. That might have been a turning point in the decision-making about
the withdrawal of the foreign army from the territory of our sovereign state.
On the other hand, that was a clear message heard by western MPs and
governments. The letter by the NATO Secretary General, Manfred Wörner, to the
Chairman of the Supreme Council – Reconstituent Seimas, Vytautas Landsbergis,
after his visit to Vilnius in March 1992 runs, “I left Vilnius with a clear
idea of the main issues and difficulties now facing your country and with the
conviction that the determination of your people to support independence,
freedom and democracy, is the best guarantee to successfully overcome the
present difficulties.”
On 5 October 1993 the Lithuanian
political parties approached the President of the Republic concerning the
integration of the Republic of Lithuania into NATO. The parties declared, “the
new political situation of Lithuania after the withdrawal of the foreign army
needs a clear position of the political forces based on agreement and
confidence on the strategic matters of Lithuania’s policy, which should be the
framework for the national policy. (…) Lithuania, not integrated into the
collective defence system, is not safe. Therefore together with the Central
European states Lithuania needs to join the Western European defence
organisations.” They claimed that Lithuania should express, on the top level,
its wish to join NATO. That accord was a landmark in our traditional consensus
on the key issues of our political life – something to be proud of.
Lithuania’s road to NATO was a long one and sometimes painful too.
Lithuania started developing the national defence system from scratch when the
fundamental change was taking place in the society against the background of
financial shortages. Each had and still has to work hard and learn to be an
equal partner of the Alliance. Were there any other choices when the citizens’
mandate and decision were clearly expressed and when the opinion polls showed
the “unmistakable YES”?
Having reached one of its strategic foreign policy goals, its
fully-fledged NATO membership, Lithuania declared by way of the Seimas
Resolution of 1 May 2004 that it “will seek to: become an active country,
visible in the world and influential in the region; aware of the global
character of threats in the modern world to take an active part in
counteracting them”. It also declared that Lithuania “will seek that the
Alliance would continue to be a viable and strong organisation of collective
defence and security; will support the open door policy and seek to promote the
dialogue and practical cooperation with the partner countries. The unofficial
meeting of the NATO foreign affairs ministers in Vilnius in a year’s time
started an intensive dialogue on Ukraine’s aspirations at NATO membership and
the related reforms. Today we welcome the Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Macedonia, who will take the floor in a few minutes to tell us about the contribution
of the aspirant countries into strengthening the Alliance, which is the proof
that NATO’s and our mission is not over yet.
The programme of the incumbent
Lithuanian government, approved by the Seimas, highlights national security
from any external threat that might arise from the policies of other nations,
support for democratic development in the geopolitical environment of
Lithuania, promotion of democratic values in the sphere of international
relations, and achievement of a favourable external environment for the
country’s safe existence. The programme also emphasizes the continuity of the
traditional framework of values of the Lithuanian foreign policy based on
faithfulness to freedom and democracy, and the principles of truth, justice and
international law.
We face totally different
challenges to security today – fighting terrorism, non-proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction, fraud, and cyber crime, as well as unstable countries as a
source of threat. The Alliance is looking for new possibilities of maintaining
security. I our view, whatever the threats, it’s crucial to never forget that
the success of the Alliance lies in loyalty to collective defence.
We ask ourselves today how we,
parliamentarians, can contribute to global security and solidarity. What is our
contribution into democracy development, personal freedoms, rule of law, and
other values, as well as peaceful conflict settlement in the Euro-Atlantic
area? How can we together with the members of the other 25 parliaments be
better involved into fundamental solutions which have an impact on the national
security of the NATO member countries and the future of the whole democratic
world for those solutions to be more understandable and transparent, for a
closer link between NATO and its societies to be promoted, and for support for
the NATO policies to be ensured. Lithuania finds that the development of the
trans-Atlantic link and mutual dialogue is the most important element. We shall
contribute to a stronger consensus among the Alliance members. We are building
our future and security together.
Fellow MPs and dear guests,
Taking this opportunity, I wish to thank all those who
have done their bit to nearing Lithuania’s NATO membership and deepening its
engagement by their words and deeds, ideas and understanding. My special thanks
go to you, the Lithuanian military staff, who risked your lives and took or are
taking part in the important missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo,
Georgia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. God bless you.
Thanks for your attention and good luck.
