Lithuanian President visits NATO HQ

During a visit to NATO on 16 December, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus said his country would continue to be an active member of the Alliance and contribute to its missions.

The President met with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer for talks on the Alliance's expanding operations and Lithuania's contribution to these missions.

Mr. Adamkus told the Secretary General that Lithuania intends to contribute to the expansion of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Lithuania will also provide trainers for the NATO training mission in Iraq.

The Secretary General and the President also discussed defence reform in Lithuania, NATO's partnerships and preparations for the upcoming informal meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers, to be held in Vilnius in April 2005.

At a joint press point, the Secretary General paid tribute to the important role President Adamkus played in Ukraine after the flawed elections.

"Ukraine is an important partner of NATO," Mr. De Hoop Scheffer told reporters, "and that's why is so important that the values which are the basis of this relationship are being adhered to".

He also said that NATO now has a long-term rotation schedule for air policing over Alliance territory, including over the Baltic States. This will ensure a permanence of the air policing, he said.