Ambassador G. Damušytė: we joined NATO at exactly the right time
CONVERSATION
3/15/2024
SUMMARY
Ambassador Gintė Damušytė recalls that when she arrived in Brussels in 2001, NATO members were reluctant to even discuss enlargement — a genuine shock at the time. As the first woman to serve as ambassador to NATO, she notes that Lithuania’s hopes advanced thanks to strong advocacy from countries like Poland and the Czech Republic, as well as consistent Nordic support, particularly from Denmark.
She adds that Lithuania helped create the “Vilnius Ten,” an informal group of candidate states coordinating their efforts on the road to NATO membership.
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