Lithuania welcomes the recommendations on new Strategic Concept for NATO, which were presented by the Group of Experts appointed by NATO Secretary General and led by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to the North Atlantic Council on 17 May in Brussels, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in its press release.

In the document “NATO 2020: Assured Security; Dynamic Engagement”, the  Group of Experts presents recommendations that were prepared following seminars and consultations with governmental and non-governmental organizations, scientists and officials from the Alliance’s member states and partner countries, and the most important issues are widely discussed.

The recommendations reflect Lithuania’s fundamental interests. The main objectives of the Alliance – the collective defence, deterrence policy, and others – are considered to be unchangeable. Emphasis is placed on the need to ensure that the Alliance is really prepared to face security challenges.

Based on these recommendations, NATO’s Secretary General should develop the initial draft of NATO’s new Strategic Concept and pass it on to the member countries to discuss it early this autumn. The document is expected to be adopted at the Alliance’s next summit in November 2010.

Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis presented Lithuania’s position on new Strategic Concept for NATO to representatives from the Group of Experts on 24 March. The position was also presented when Lithuanian representatives participated in strategic seminars and bilateral meetings.

Lithuania aims to maintain the Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty with the clause of collective defence as the key element of NATO’s new Strategic Concept, and to make NATO more visible in the member states when organizing exercises and training, and developing the infrastructure. The significance of the U.S. nuclear presence in Europe should be highlighted as one of the most important elements of the Alliance’s policy of deterrence.

The door of the Alliance has to remain always open to European countries that aspire to become members and meet the membership criteria. We must aim to have the NATO-Russia relations based on values, instigation of trust and fulfilment of international commitments. We must also aim to establish new mechanisms and tools to combat new threats, first and foremost, in the areas of energy security and cyber defence.

NATO’s Strategic Concept is the key document for the Alliance’s activities. The Strategic Concept outlines NATO’s purpose and its tasks, evaluates the strategic security environment and the perspective of changes, as well as provides guidelines for further adaptation of the Alliance’s military forces. At the Strasbourg-Kehl Summit in 2009, NATO leaders decided to prepare the new NATO’s Strategic Concept, which is expected to be adopted at the next summit meeting in autumn 2010. The current Strategic Concept was issued in 1999.

For more information about the recommendations, please visit here.