VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) – Several countries in Central and Eastern Europe on Thursday began marking the 20th anniversary of the largest expansion of the once-socialist NATO military alliance into NATO membership.
Military planes roared over the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. Officials gathered to commemorate the event at the main air base housing Spanish and Portuguese fighter jets tasked with the NATO air security mission in the Baltic Sea region.
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“Russia’s new bloody terrorist attacks in Europe are contributing to growing instability and threats around the world. But we in Lithuania know that we will never be alone again,” President Gitanas Nauseda said. I’m calm because I’m doing it,” he said. The first of his NATO fighters landed in his 2004 year. “We will always have a strong and supportive family of allies by our side, and we will face any challenge together.”
In this photo provided by the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense, attendees attend a ceremony commemorating Lithuania’s 20th anniversary of joining NATO on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Šiauliai Air Base, about 230 kilometers (144 miles) east of Lithuania’s capital Vilnius. Lithuanian soldiers. (Alfredas Pliadis/Lithuanian Ministry of Defense, via AP)
On March 29, 2004, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia joined NATO, bringing the total number of Alliance members to 26. These seven countries began membership negotiations soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union and were eventually invited. Other former Soviet satellite groups, including Poland and the Czech Republic, were also admitted several years ago.
Since joining the alliance, these countries have often warned of the Russian threat, using the national trauma of the Soviet occupation as evidence of their credibility. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is seen as vindication of these concerns, which the West has often ignored at times. They responded with some of the strongest responses, providing equipment and financial aid to Ukraine and tightening further sanctions against Russia.
Most of the former Soviet republics that joined NATO at the turn of the millennium spend more than the required 2% of their gross domestic product on defense. When Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced his candidacy to become the alliance’s next leader earlier this month, he highlighted the threat from Russia and said the alliance needed a “fresh perspective” that Eastern Europe could offer. .
“Russia has proven to be a serious and long-term threat to the security of our continent, Europe and the Atlantic,” the 65-year-old said in announcing his candidacy. “NATO’s borders have become paramount, and strengthening our eastern flank will remain a long-term priority.”
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The seven countries mark the anniversary with solemn events and displays of force, but also with some merrymaking, including outdoor concerts and exhibitions.
“Twenty years ago, the Bulgarian people made the right choice to join NATO,” said Admiral Emir Eftimov, the country’s defense chief. “Given today’s security situation, this is the most appropriate decision in our recent history.”
NATO was established after World War II.
