Political Quotes

“This amendment designates Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Romania as eligible to receive assistance to prepare for future NATO membership. This amendment does not require that any nation be invited to join NATO. It simply makes Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Romania eligible to receive assistance to prepare for NATO membership in the future. A similar amendment was in the House-passed version of the State Department authorization bill. I say to my colleagues, this last February, I visited Lithuania, the homeland of my mother, for my fourth visit. I found, much to my amazement, that no matter where I traveled in this small country, no matter what official I sat down to meet with, people had on their mind one thing and one thing only: NATO membership. The Baltic States, particularly Lithuania and Latvia, believe that NATO membership is crucial to their survival. They are surrounded, in many instances, by questionable circumstances, Russian troops and a lot of question marks that leave them uncertain about their future.”