The flags of seven new East European members were raised at NATO headquarters yesterday as foreign ministers prepared to confer on a growing list of global trouble spots where overstretched forces are involved.
"At the dawn of a new century, the entry of the seven new members extends the area of stability of our continent," said Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini. "It ... confirms that the divisions of the past have been overcome."
The banners of formerly communist Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia were hoisted in the courtyard of the sprawling low-rise NATO complex in a Brussels suburb four days after they joined, raising membership to 26.
PHOTO: AP
The three Baltic states are former Soviet republics whose incorporation into the Western alliance has riled Moscow.
But, after much deliberation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed to meet NATO counterparts later yesterday in what Western diplomats saw as a signal of acceptance.
"It's a historic moment. For 50 years we were occupied by the Russians. We've never been as safe as we are today," said Lithuanian warrant officer Algirdas Nakvosas, resplendent in a green dress uniform, as he watched the flags go up.
NATO warplanes began air patrols over the Baltic states as soon as they acceded on Monday, despite complaints from Moscow.
Former Lithuanian president Vytautas Landsbergis, a hero of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, told state radio: "People have been trying to tell us that the Cold War is over ... but there are many facts showing us that this is an illusion.
"I speak not of the Russian people, but in the minds of Russian leaders nothing is different from 10 or even 15 years ago. The Cold War against the Baltic States continues."
US Secretary of State Colin Powell said there was no reason for "heightened nervousness" over Russia's unease.
"I don't sense that the Russians will find it necessary to counter this move with anything that would be either provocative or destabilizing or dangerous," he said in remarks released by the State Department yesterday.
Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia once formed part of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact, NATO's foe which collapsed in 1991. Slovenia once belonged to non-aligned but communist Yugoslavia.
In their talks, the ministers were to discuss the slow delivery on pledges to expand security in Afghanistan, which won record aid from donors this week but is still threatened by a resurgent drug trade, warlordism and guerrillas.
"I would like to see additional forces go in there over the next couple of months in order to secure the country for the elections that are going to be held in September," Powell said.
Aid groups have criticized NATO for planning to set up military reconstruction teams in relatively stable areas of the country and failing to address major security problems.
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