SPEECH OF THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS PETRAS VAITIEKŪNAS AT THE RECEPTION MARKING 85TH ANNIVERSARY OF US-BALTIC STATE RELATIONS (Washington, USA, June 14, 2007)
Benjamin Franklin Room, U.S. Department of State
Washington, DC
Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to be in Washington, DC today to celebrate together with my distinguished colleagues the 85th anniversary of unbroken diplomatic relations between Lithuania and the United States. June 14th is a day that we in Lithuania commemorate mass deportations of Lithuanians to Siberia.
In 2000 in Vilnius we initiated a process of cooperation, a process of cooperation among ten NATO aspirants. Today we believe that the Vilnius process should continue because security and prosperity does not stop on our own borders. It must continue in order to achieve the integration of Albania, Croatia, Macedonia into Euro-Atlantic institutions and to help Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia succeed in strengthening their democracies. The Vilnius process should support the process of the quorum in Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and elsewhere, and last but not least give the people of Belarus the hope of some day living in a democratic society.
The key element of success of Vilnius process is once again the transatlantic link, the reliable partnership and cooperation of its members. Unity between us is essential.
As President Bush said in Vilnius in 2002, anyone who would choose Lithuania as an enemy has also made an enemy of the United States of America. And let me rephrase these words and to reflect Lithuania's perception of perspective of transatlantic cooperation. I believe that anyone who is Lithuania's friend is a good friend of the United States, too.
Thank you for being with us.
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