how Putin persuaded Lithuanians not to join NATO (VIDEO)

Antanas Valenis – former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania (from 2000 to 2006) – participated in the negotiations leading up to Lithuania’s accession to NATO in 2004.

– Regarding joining NATO, today we hear a lot from the Russian leadership that the Baltic countries supposedly should not have joined NATO, that Eastern Europe as a whole should not have become part of the North Atlantic Alliance. You were the Minister of Foreign Affairs at that moment. What was Russia’s position on the issue of the Baltic countries joining NATO, were there any reproaches, were there any protests?

– There was intense diplomacy to block [этот процесс]. There were proposals even during the time of President Yeltsin about general guarantees from NATO and Russia to this region, but here I can also refer to Putin.

On April 1, 2001, President Adamkus (Valdas Adamkus, President of Lithuania in 1998–2002 and 2004–2009, US citizen since 1955 and Lithuanian since 1992 – NV)]arrived in the Kremlin, and a long conversation took place, first with a-tete, and then – delegations. It was a state visit – in my opinion, the only one of its kind in the entire history of our Russian-Lithuanian relations. And then Putin said two things: we have no objections to the European Union, I think that we can jointly have a very positive effect from this, everything is fine here. But why do you need to join NATO? We, of course, do not understand your desire to join NATO, no one is threatening you, but nevertheless, if you really want to go there (I didn’t say “eager” or “rushing”), you are going intensively, then of course, we can’t do anything . We assessed this as agreement.

I often like to say that we don’t know where Lithuania would be if it had not joined NATO and the European Union, but we know where those of our friends in the socialist camp who did not join are now – everyone has big problems, but with with minor exceptions.

Even without exceptions: there is no democracy in Azerbaijan either, and there are big problems there. You know, Fado is a style of song in Portugal: when the sailors left and died, women sing such nostalgic songs, how well they would have lived if their husbands had not died, such an alternative history.

Our story is very good – we have achieved everything, and if we were to sing fado, we would sing about how bad we would have been if we had not done what we did, the 20th anniversary of which we are now celebrating – our joining NATO and the European Union.

– Former countries of the Soviet space and countries of the post-Soviet space are now actively striving to join NATO. This is not only Ukraine, but also Moldova, and Georgia, and partly Armenia also declares its ambitions. In your opinion, what are their real chances? Here, first of all, it is probably necessary to say about Ukraine, which very clearly demonstrates its readiness and desire to join both the European Union and NATO.

– I think that the chances for Ukraine are great, but I think that while the war is going on, no one will accept, big, big problems may arise – how to interpret the terms of the Washington Treaty.

But NATO must understand that Ukraine is protecting all these NATO states. In December 2021, when the Russian Foreign Ministry sent these two ultimatums, we all remember, security treaties – one for the United States, the other for NATO – we then thought that they were joking, they were discarded. And everyone said that with such forces that had already been assembled there on the border with Ukraine, it was impossible that they would attack, only fools could attack with such forces. They turned out to be, excuse me, fools.

Now they declare the capture of every telegraph pole or every small village as a great victory, but they have not advanced anywhere, and where they have advanced, they have been driven back. But nevertheless, hundreds and tens of thousands of people, including civilians, die every day.

So, to clearly answer your question, over these 75 years (we will celebrate in Washington in the summer) no one has tried to test Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. We don’t know how it will be, there is a lot of speculation here – they will protect the Baltic republics, they will not protect them. But I know clearly: so far not a single opponent or enemy has tried this.

And Moldova, I think, will be in NATO, [но тут] There are also complications. I always remember Cyprus. When Cyprus was admitted to the European Union, but European law only applies on the unoccupied side of Cyprus. So, perhaps there will be some similar decisions regarding our other European organizations and other states, but so far Russia has been very successful in interfering everywhere, and sorting it all out will take time. But I have no doubt that everyone who wants to be in this safe space will all be there.