Kwasniewski promises Polish support for Lithuania's bid to join NATO

Poland has promised to support Lithuania's bid to join NATO, flying in the face of fierce opposition from Russia. In a meeting with his Lithuanian counterpart Valdas Adamkus, President Aleksander Kwasniewski said that Poland hopes the decision on NATO expansion will be taken at next year's summit of the alliance in Prague. Adamkus, who is visiting Warsaw to mark the 10th anniversary of the opening of diplomatic relations with Poland after Lithuania gained independence from the Soviet Union, said that Poland's support was very significant to his aspirations of joining the alliance. Kwasniewski commented, "We will be together in the European Union ... and we cannot imagine NATO without Lithuania." (Rzeczpospolita, p. A1; Reuters) A.Z.