Press release, 28 March 2014
The Road of trans-Atlantic integration of the European countries after the Cold War, major achievements and the role of parliaments were overviewed during the first session of the international conference Contribution of Parliaments to NATO Enlargement, which takes place at the Seimas. Relations between Russia and Ukraine were also among the addressed issues.
When speaking about Lithuania’s decision to join NATO, Linas Linkevičius, Minister of Foreign Affairs, recalled the situation which led to the adoption of this historic decision, and the initial debate on possible neutrality of our country. “Very soon, already in 1992, <…> we realised that vacuum is never completely empty Therefore taking into account the size of our country, our defence capacity and the geographic location, we had to choose a collective defence system. It was a very easy choice as there were almost no alternatives to NATO.”
The Minister was also happy to remember that the time was not wasted and in 1994 a consensus among all parties in the Parliament was reached to aspire for NATO membership. Mr Linkevičius referred to this agreement as to a signal to the world, Europe and all those who liked the idea or disliked it, as well as to Lithuania itself, that all political parties would work for this goal together. He said that moment probably was the beginning of our success story.
Dr h.c. Karl A. Lamers, President of the Atlantic Treaty Association and Vice-President of NATO Parliamentary Assembly, pointed out that, since its foundation in 1949, NATO had been a guarantor of security. “To be a member of NATO is an important benefit for stability and security <…>, especially in these days when we see what happens in Ukraine and especially in Crimea. At this moment we have to realise how important it was that Lithuania along with other Central and Eastern European states used the window of opportunity at that time and became members of the Atlantic Alliance,” Dr Lamers said.
Dr Lamers reminded that to ensure peace in Europe, NATO reached out a hand of friendship to Russia and recognised its role as a partner in the new post-Cold War Europe. He also expressed his shock over Russia’s current actions, “As we have witnessed recently, even rapprochement with the EU is regarded as a geopolitical threat. <…> We cannot accept this. It is deeply regrettable that people’s demands for democracy, for rule of law and transparent market economy are still seen in some parts of the world as a western conspiracy. Annexation of Crimea has caused the most serious crisis between the East and the West since the end of the Cold War.”
Ben-Oni Ardelean, Secretary of the Foreign Policy Committee, Senate of Romania, subscribed to the opinion of Dr Lammers, and said that we tried to be tolerant and respect each other, preserve international security and peace. Breach of territorial of integrity of Ukraine was against international UN agreements and key principles. In his view that clearly showed that the old destructive demons were still alive.
According to Senator Ardelean, with current security threats in mind, it is important that member countries readjust their defence spending, since NATO, as a global network of partners, remains the bedrock of security of Euro-Atlantic nations.
Saulė Eglė Trembo, Public Relations Unit, Communications Department, Office of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6203, e-mail: egle.trembo@lrs.lt
