Kommersant
Rssian Daily Online
October 2, 2008
The United States pledged to provide military aid to Lithuania and two other Baltic states. U.S. President George W. Bush guaranteed military cooperation during the meeting with his Lithuanian counterpart Valdas Adamkus in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen confirmed the president’s promise later on.
Lithuania and the United States are close allies but the aid is required to cement cooperation, President Adamkus made clear when completing his visit to the United States, the news service of Lithuania’s president reported.
The agreement of 2004, whereby the NATO jets patrol the Baltic air expires in late 2011, and the Baltic states are concerned about the agreement’s extension, Lithuanian president specified.
But even earlier, President George W. Bush promised that the United States would execute all commitments assumed within NATO and pledged to back up the Baltic nations in their efforts aimed at improving energy independence.
Certain lawmakers of Lithuanian Seym offered Tuesday to amend the country’s constitution and enable Lithuania to host the NATO military bases. The given reason was that the recent events in Georgia revealed the real threat to security of the states bordering Russia.
Latvia, Estonia and Lithuanian have been recently pursuing the anti-Russian policy of extreme extent. Those countries set up an informal group, the so-called New Warsaw Bloc, as the political analysts refer to it.
