Regina Narusis

NATO's 50th Anniversary: What will be Lithuania's Role?

The United States will host the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO's) 50th anniversary in Washington, D.C. on April 23rd to the 25th. This Summit will commemorate NATO's success and plans for a larger and more effective alliance. On April 23rd, it expects to celebrate democracy with the first participation of leaders from the three newest members – Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. Yet, we Lithuanian-Americans wonder what future-affecting decisions will be made concerning Lithuania's status regarding NATO?

The expected Summit agenda will include: laying out a vision for NATO in the 21st century, updating its strategic concepts, addressing further expansion, developing capabilities to deal with threats from weapons of mass destruction, and deepening cooperation with Russia and the Ukraine. The matter of utmost importance to the Lithuanian-American community is NATO expansion. Will new countries, including Lithuania, be invited to join at the Summit, and what requirements may be imposed upon these countries awaiting invitation to join.

We hear that the door to NATO expansion is open and there will be a step-by-step process that will allow candidates to better prepare themselves. Those well-sounding words may be in fact the justification to postpone further enlargement. Delaying expansion would be a great mistake, as such action will only cause uncertainty and instability in Central Europe. The guidelines for NATO admission exist and should not be changed. The same guidelines that were used to admit the last three members should be used to admit future members.

Lithuania applied for NATO membership and met the existing NATO criteria to be invited to join NATO. The majority of the Lithuanian people, all the political parties and government have chosen to join NATO. They see such membership as the means to guarantee their independence. Some feel that Lithuania is no longer in danger. Yet, during the first week of February of 1999, at talks about the 50th anniversary celebration among the allied officials, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gusarov made some startling remarks. He proclaimed that the expansion of NATO is the destruction of the existing world order, and further enlightened the participants that Moscow has drawn a "red line" on further eastward NATO expansion into lands of the former Soviet Union, such as the Baltic States. It is obvious that the Russian leadership is not about to accept the clear emergence of Lithuania as a free and independent nation.

The invitation of Lithuania to join NATO has now become a political decision. Lithuania has met NATO criteria to be invited. It is a parliamentary democracy, which has held free and fair elections since achieving independence in 1990. It respects human rights of its citizens, including the rights of national minorities. It has an independent judiciary. It has established a free market economy with good steady growth – 5.5% GDP in 1998 – and checked inflation – 2.4% in 1998.

Lithuania enjoys good relations with neighboring countries and has no major territorial or ethnic disputes with them. Lithuania has a good relationship with Russia, with the signing of a border treaty in October of 1997. It forged highly successful ties with Poland and has created joint cooperation institutions, including a Lithuanian-Polish peacekeeping battalion. Lithuania's army is not as large as Poland's, however it will be able to make a contribution to future NATO peacekeeping efforts similar to that of a smaller current NATO member as Luxembourg. They have already participated in NATO peacekeeping missions in Bosnia.

In April of 1998, the three Baltic States signed an agreement setting up Baltnet, a joint air surveillance network with NATO systems. Lithuania has about 8,200 men in its active duty armed forces and about 10,000 in the National Defense Volunteer Forces, a volunteer paramilitary force. Since 1998, the defense budget was $156.1 million – about 1.5% of the GDP. By the year 2001, Lithuania is committed to spend 2.0% of its GDP for defense. Lithuania has also restructured its army, which is under civilian control.

What are the political considerations? Some say that because of Lithuania's geographic position, conventional forces cannot defend it. NATO, however, serves as a deterrent against aggressors. Let us not forget that Berlin was indefensible. Others do not wish to anger Russia. They feel Russia is weak economically, militarily, and governmentally, especially due to President Yeltsin's frail health. Russian polls show that the Russian people are not upset over NATO's expansion to the east. Only the rulers are upset. Russia has to reconcile herself to the loss of her empire and needs to abandon her traditional drive to expand her subjugation of other countries. Appeasement and concessions only encourage the imperialistic Russian mindset. Expansion will block any realistic prospect of Russian imperialism – a concept too outdated to continue into the 21st century.

Many in Washington say that Slovenia, Lithuania, and Slovakia should be invited to join NATO in April at the Summit. Those same people assert that Estonia and Latvia, however, are not ready to be invited and that simultaneous admissions of all three Baltic countries might be too provocative for Russia. Estonia has been invited to the European Union. Lithuania borders Poland, soon to be a member. Admission of Lithuania first and at this time would be a logical step in the expansion process.

The key to NATO's future is the need for continued strong American engagement in Europe. The Washington Summit should reaffirm that central principle as a fundamental element of our vision of a stable, democratic, and peaceful Europe.