News

On 26-29 February, a delegation of officials of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Lithuanian Ministry of Defence led by Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Laimonas Talat-Kelpša visited Washington. During the visit, the Lithuanian officials met with the representatives from the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Department of State, non-governmental organisations and discussed further NATO enlargement, preparation for the NATO Summit in Bucharest on 2-4 April this year, infrastructure projects in Afghanistan curated by Lithuania, the democracy development and other important issues of transatlantic partnership.

‘Lithuania and the U.S. share positions on the issue of NATO enlargement,’ said Undersecretary of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Laimonas Talat-Kelpša.

Both countries support the membership of the three Balkan countries – Croatia, Macedonia and Albania – in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, also speak up for joining of the Membership Action Plan by Ukraine and Georgia.

‘Currently it is the right moment for inviting the new countries to join the Alliance, and the NATO enlargement sceptics will always find arguments why this should not be done,’ said L.Talat-Kelpša.

During the consultations in Washington, the situation in Afghanistan was also discussed. During the meetings at the U.S. Department of State, Lithuania sought for the U.S. support for the implementation of infrastructure development projects in Afghanistan.