NATO's Response to Lithuania's Armed Forces

The chief political committee of NATO affirmed that alliance member states viewed Lithuania as a solid and trustworthy applicant country during a conference with Lithuanian officials in Brussels on November 10^th.

The officials of nineteen NATO countries attending the Brussels conference said that the Lithuanian plans for development of armed forces was a model one. Lithuania responded that it would continue to further to its commitments in a NATO bid.

The national delegation produced the updated information on Lithuanian economy, and domestic and foreign policy spelling out Vilnius' position on further enlargement of the alliance and the role of the membership action plan in this process. These issues are listed in the Lithuanian program on NATO integration, which is up for discussion in NATO headquarters. The alliance officers praised the document, which Lithuania was the first to design among candidate states, the foreign ministry reported.

The top official of the Lithuanian group, foreign vice-minister Vygaudas Usackas, declared Lithuania was proceeding with preparations for NATO membership and said he hoped the next summit of alliance would invite a new wave of applicant countries, including Lithuania. 

The Brussels meeting represented the second round of NATO-Lithuania consultations geared towards informing the candidate states directly about NATO assessment of nation's preparation level.