Nato

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I got home last night or at least got back to Washington last night at midnight after completing a whirlwind trip of 3 days to Lithuania. I went there in a bipartisan delegation to be present for the NATO summit. It was a historic meeting. President Biden was there and the leaders of many countries from around the world--not just the NATO allies but, for instance, the President of the Republic of South Korea and the Prime Minister from Australia. What brought them all together was a historic event.

The NATO alliance, which has been in existence for over 70 years, was created after World War II to bring peace to at least the European and American region of the world. It has been successful because we gathered nations--now 31--together in common purpose to fight off anyone who would attack us, to let those who are thinking of attacking us know the heavy price they would pay.

So the message from Vilnius, Lithuania, to Vladimir Putin this week is not a good one for him. The message is that the NATO alliance is bigger, stronger, and more unified than it ever has been in history. In a way, it is kind of a surprise. It wasn't that long ago that the previous President, Donald Trump, raised enough questions among leaders in the world that they wondered if there would be a NATO. Trump, of course, was a close friend--I still can't understand why--of Vladimir Putin's, often finding him so admirable and praising him for his crazy politics. Yet, when it came to the NATO alliance, President Trump was very critical--to the point where, when Joseph Biden became President of the United States and started meeting with world leaders, the first question they asked was, well, what is the position of the United States when it comes to this common security alliance? Biden assured them that it was strong and would continue to be, and he has proven it.

What happened in Lithuania at the NATO summit this week is a tribute to leadership by many people, not the least of whom is our President. He came together and understood that we are stronger when we stand together, and we saw it in Vilnius. The situation that we witnessed yesterday was historic.

My mother was born in that little country of Lithuania many years ago and immigrated to the United States at the age of 2. I have been back many times. My first visit was in 1979 before I was elected to Congress. I am glad I went. It was good for me to see what Lithuania looked like in Soviet times and to see the sharp contrast today with modern Lithuania.

It is just plain historic that a NATO summit would be held in that same former Soviet socialist republic, this year, 2023. The summit was hosted in Lithuania because of that country's extraordinary journey from Soviet tyranny to a thriving democratic voice.

Knowing Putin's tyranny all too well, Lithuania has been an outspoken supporter of Ukraine despite the invasion by Putin, as well as a supporter of the exiled voices from Belarus and Russia and has stood firm against Chinese economic bullying resulting from growing trade with Taiwan.

It brought back to mind what I witnessed over the years. That former Soviet socialist republic was literally the first republic to step forward and say: We are breaking with Moscow. We want our own independence.

They paid a heavy price: pressure, killing, invasion--all of the things which Gorbachev and Soviet leaders could conjure up to try to stop this little country from succeeding. But they failed. Lithuania is a proud nation now, and I am glad it hosted this NATO summit.

We saw at the summit an amazing array of international leaders, including Asian allies like Australia and South Korea as well as our own President and Secretary of State Tony Blinken. What struck me was the sustained resolve and common purpose in defeating Russia in their war with Ukraine. Our NATO allies, many former captives of the Soviet Union themselves, have enduring memories of war and are determined to not allow Russia's imperial actions of today.

I want to recognize President Joe Biden's clear-eyed vision and leadership in galvanizing and reinvigorating the critical NATO alliance and its support for Ukraine.

The chairs of our journey, the NATO observers from the Senate, were Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. They did an admirable job, and I was glad to be part of their effort.

We must never forget that NATO was born from the ashes of two horrific wars in Europe, with many newer members eventually joining after decades of Soviet oppression.

Despite Putin's warped paranoia to the contrary, NATO is not a threat to Russia, but it will defend every inch of member territory from Russia or any other such attack. The alliance is still growing, with this summit's newest member, Finland, and now Sweden on the way.

Putin's colossal strategic blunder in Ukraine has cost the lives of more than 100,000 Russian soldiers, and it lowered Russia's standing in the world. Much to his disappointment, Putin's senseless invasion in fact strengthened and expanded the NATO alliance, including along hundreds of miles of Russian border.

There were a few other key summit outcomes--notably, further security guarantees to Ukraine and an easier pathway for Ukraine to ultimately be part of NATO, which I hope it will be.

I believe Ukraine's future rests ultimately within NATO, and, until then, the United States and our allies must continue to support its defense against Russian aggression.

I think Lithuanian President Nauseda argued this well--that the Europeans understand that Ukraine's fight is their fight. That also is my feeling and of most of us here in the Senate of both political parties. Ukraine's fight for democracy and sovereignty is our fight too.

In Vilnius we also met with Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya. Her husband Sergei was jailed after trying to run in an election against Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the last dictator in Europe. So she ran in his place, and probably won. But with Lukashenka refusing to honor the election results, she tragically had to flee to neighboring Lithuania.

Her country has become a puppet state of Putin, even allowing Russia to move nuclear weapons into its territory. Countless Belarusians have been jailed for demanding basic freedoms, and yet she and so many others heroically continue their struggle, including some who were fighting to help Ukraine.

This poster shows two jailed Belarusian journalists who worked for Radio Free Europe, which is doing heroic quality journalism in the region: Andrey Kuznechyk and Ihar Losik. Both were jailed by Lukashenka for simply being reporters. They and all the country's political prisoners should be released, period.

I also hope the administration will soon announce a new special envoy for Belarus, and I plan to work with my Senate colleagues to update and strengthen the Belarus Democracy Act.

I want to close with a message to Vladimir Putin from the summit. The NATO alliance is stronger than ever, and we are united in our determination to stop your ruthless invasion of Ukraine.

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