Baltics Receive U.S. Endorsement to Join NATO
Washington DC (JBANC) The Protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on the Accession of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia were ratified this morning in the U.S. Senate by a vote of 96-0. With this, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and four other countries from Central and Eastern Europe have received conclusive support from the United States to join the Alliance.
Discussion on the Senate floor for Treaty Document 108-4 lasted less than four hours yesterday. Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senator Joe Biden (D-DE), committee’s lead Democrat, managed the debate.
There was a strong support for the Baltics given by all those who spoke, perhaps most notably from Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL). While mentioning his Lithuanian roots, Sen. Durbin emphasized the importance of remembering just how long the Baltics have suffered to get to where they are today as countries that are actively participating in many peacekeeping operations and acting as de-facto members of the Alliance.
Other strong messages of endorsement were given by Senators George Voinovich (R-IN) and George Allen (R-VA).
One amendment to the Treaty, a Sense of Congress measure that asks for future consideration of NATO’s consensus rule and possible membership suspension mechanisms, was approved during the debate yesterday. These issues would only be addressed at the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s parliamentary body, in 18 months, six months after the target date for induction of NATO’s newest members. The amendment was introduced by Senators John Warner (R-VA), Carl Levin (D-MI), Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Jeff Sessions (R-AL). This particular point was also debated by Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and John McCain (R-AZ).
The Joint Baltic American National Committee, Inc. (JBANC), representing a million Americans of Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian heritage, has actively supported efforts to see the three Baltic countries become members of NATO, a move that serves U.S. interests by enhancing Trans-Atlantic security and cooperation.
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JOINT BALTIC AMERICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE, INC.
Representing:
Estonian American National Council, Inc.
American Latvian Association, Inc.
Lithuanian American Council, Inc.
400 Hurley Avenue
Rockville, MD 20850
Tel: (301) 340-1954
Fax: (301) 309-1406
E-Mail:jbanc@jbanc.org
Net: http://jbanc.org
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