Home>News Center>World
         
 

New members shift NATO to Russia's borders
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-03-30 08:47

U.S. President Bush ushered seven eastern European allies into NATO on Monday as "full and equal partners," and appealed to the alliance for unity in Iraq and the war on terror after the Madrid bombings.


The prime ministers of the seven new NATO member countries stand prior to presenting their credentials to US Secretary of State Colin Powell at the US Treasury Department in Washington, DC. [Reuters]

The entry of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia increased the number of NATO members to 26, but the expansion could slow deployments and has angered Russia by shifting the 55-year-old transatlantic alliance to its borders.

"Today our alliance faces a new enemy, which has brought death to innocent people from New York to Madrid. Terrorists hate everything this alliance stands for. They despise our freedom, they fear our unity, they seek to divide us. They will fail. We will not be divided," Bush said.

Bush, criticized for paying scant attention to alliance-building, said the seven new NATO entrants were already "allies in action" because they aided the United States in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"They understand our cause in Afghanistan and Iraq because tyranny for them is still a fresh memory," Bush told the nations' prime ministers at a South Lawn ceremony after they formally handed over their accession documents.

U.S. President George W. Bush (C) is applauded as he speaks before the prime ministers of seven former Soviet bloc nations on their final step to joining NATO during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC. [AFP]
"Today they stand with us as full and equal partners in this great alliance."

In an immediate reflection of the shift eastward of an alliance forged to fight the Cold War, NATO fighter jets headed to the Baltics under a plan to begin regular patrols, Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said. The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were republics in the former Soviet Union, NATO's Cold War foe, until the Soviet breakup in 1991.

Russia protested the patrols and a parliamentary deputy said Moscow may respond with "corresponding measures."

Despite fears the enlargement could hamper timely deployments because of NATO's need for consensus on military action, Bush said he also supported the ambitions of Albania, Croatia and Macedonia to one day join the alliance. "The door to NATO will remain open," he added.

Bush's appeal for unity follows the deadly Madrid train bombings on March 11. Spain's new leader has pledged to pull his country's 1,300 troops out of Iraq unless the United Nations is given much greater control there by the end of June.

The new members exulted in joining an organization which ensures military protection to the 26 nations.

"Today, it is really fantastic day for Slovakia. ... I consider this a very big success," Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan told Reuters.

Forty percent of NATO will now be former communist states, and Washington has welcomed them as a counterweight to the "old Europe" of France and Germany, who opposed the Iraq war.

A Russian parliamentary deputy dismissed the Washington ceremony as a "show."

Konstantin Kosachev, representative of a Russian parliamentary committee on international affairs, said a NATO plan to patrol Baltic airspace was an "unfriendly" move. Estonia and Latvia border Russia, while Lithuania has a frontier with Moscow's Kaliningrad enclave.

"It can not be ruled out that Russia ought to look at the possibility of taking corresponding measures," he said.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said "The main thing that could improve the state of European security is a fundamental change in the very nature of NATO... including a joint fight against new and real threats and challenges."

Monday's expansion has brought NATO nearer to the Balkans, the south Caucasus, the Middle East and Central Asia, all potential breeding grounds for the West's post-Sept. 11 enemies: terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

But the expansion could hinder NATO's ability to respond quickly to such threats because of its consensus decision-making.

 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

First frozen egg babies to be born in May

 

   
 

EU plans new import quotas for China

 

   
 

Paper to review China's human rights

 

   
 

Invasive moth and beetle cause huge losses

 

   
 

"Taiwan election biggest joke in the world"

 

   
 

New members shift NATO to Russia's borders

 

   
  Sharon's son must yield graft probe papers
   
  New members shift NATO to Russia's borders
   
  UN security chief fired over Iraq security flaws
   
  19 killed in Uzbek bombs and shootouts
   
  'Dead zones' top list of hazards
   
  Al Qaeda spy chief killed in Pakistani raid
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Related Stories  
   
US to designate Pakistan non-NATO ally
   
EU warned against duplicating, competing with NATO
   
UN extends NATO-led Afghan force role beyond Kabul
   
NATO to quiz Russia on attitude to former foe
   
Russia soothes NATO concerns over nuclear posture
  News Talk  
  The evil root of all instability in the world today  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 免费看一级黄色毛片| 国产精品亚洲精品青青青| 久久99精品久久| 月夜直播手机免费视频高清 | 视频二区调教中字知名国产| 日韩高清国产一区在线| 亚洲精品乱码久久久久久蜜桃不卡| 精品国产麻豆免费人成网站| 国产亚洲av片在线观看18女人 | 国产麻豆精品精东影业av网站| 一个人免费观看www视频| 无人码一区二区三区视频| 久久强奷乱码老熟女网站| 最近最新中文字幕8| 亚洲日韩一区精品射精| 渣男渣女抹胸渣男渣女app| 免费无码成人AV片在线在线播放 | 国产区卡一卡二卡三乱码免费 | 五月天婷五月天| 欧美一区二区三区激情| 亚洲成a人片在线观看中文 | 孩交精品xxxx视频视频| 国产成年无码久久久久毛片| аⅴ中文在线天堂| 成人啪精品视频免费网站| 久久久久亚洲AV成人片| 日韩人妻无码专区精品| 久久香蕉精品视频| 最新欧美精品一区二区三区| 亚洲av专区无码观看精品天堂| 欧美大成色www永久网站婷| 亚洲最大av网站在线观看| 污污的视频在线播放| 亚洲综合色色图| 狠狠干最新网址| 你是我的城池营垒免费观看完整版 | 久久综合九色综合欧美就去吻| 国产精品免费看久久久无码| 2019中文字幕在线视频| 国产精品毛片a∨一区二区三区| 67194国产精品免费观看|