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WORLD AFFAIRS: 7 EASTERN EUROPEAN STATES JOIN NATO
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WASHINGTON – U.S. President George W. Bush welcomed seven former Soviet-bloc nations into NATO on Monday, saying the 55-year-old Western alliance would be strengthened because "tyranny for them is still a fresh memory."
The expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to 26 members was celebrated as NATO signaled a willingness to play a military role in Iraq if authorized by a new UN Security Council resolution.
Standing with prime ministers in a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Bush said the new members "earned their freedom through courage and perseverance, and today they stand with us as full and equal partners in this great alliance."
Joining Bush under bright sunshine were the leaders of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Three of the new members -- the Baltic states of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia -- are former Soviet republics. As recently as 15 years ago more than 100,000 Red Army soldiers were stationed there.
They understand our cause in Afghanistan and in Iraq," the president said, "because tyranny for them is still a fresh memory."
NATO was originally established in 1949 by ten European countries, Canada and the United States to confront the Soviet Union's military strength in the Cold War.
"NATO's core mission remains the same: the defense of its members against any aggression. Today, our alliance faces a new enemy, which has brought death to innocent people from New York to Madrid," Bush said.
"Terrorists hate everything this alliance stands for. They despise our freedom. They fear our unity. They seek to divide us. They will fail," Bush added.
The new members will take their seats at NATO's headquarters in Brussels on Friday. Three other nations -- Albania, Croatia and Macedonia -- still hope to join.
"The door to NATO will remain open until the whole of Europe is united in freedom and in peace," Bush said.
Russia has cast a wary eye toward the expansion of NATO. U.S. officials have minimized worries that NATO expansion could cause tensions with Russia, but President Vladimir Putin's government has warned that Moscow intends to take defensive steps should it perceive NATO's eastward push as a threat.
The Moscow Times, march 2004 |
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| Добавлено: 30-5-2004 08:23PM |
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