News

On 1 March, the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a letter by NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, inviting Lithuania to accede to the North Atlantic Treaty. As the letter reads, all the 19 present NATO member states approved accession by Lithuania and the six other invited countries to the North Atlantic Treaty, concluded on 4 April 1949 in Washington, and deposited the Protocols confirming their acceptance at the US Department of State. The Head of the Alliance also invited the seven states to begin national procedures of ratification of the North Atlantic Treaty. The ratification of the Treaty in the Lithuanian Parliament will open the road to the country’s membership in NATO. “Today Lithuania has reached the final sprint on its path to NATO. The Alliance provides us with the greatest security for the lowest price,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis stated. Lithuania should become the Alliance’s member in the end of March or beginning of April, when all the seven new NATO member states would deposit the ratification documents. On 2 April in Brussels, an informal session of NATO foreign ministers will take place, where Lithuania should already participate as a full-fledged member of the Alliance. On the same day during a solemn ceremony at the NATO headquarters, flags of the seven new NATO member states will be raised.