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Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today is a great day for all our nations. The legal formalities for joining NATO are complete. The Alliance takes the biggest enlargement step in its fifty five year history.
At such a moment, there is of course a temptation to look back into our history, to recall the fate of generations of Latvia’s people who lived under oppression but didn’t give up their hope that freedom and democracy will prevail.
This day bears witness to the fact that these hopes and aspirations were not in vain.
But today it is even more important to look to the future, our common future. The political maps may change, but the basic task remains the same – to promote freedom, to promote peace and democracy, and to make the world a safer place for all people to live and prosper.
Confronting the most dangerous threat of our day – international terrorism - is a part of that process. We fully understand that terrorism cannot be appeased – we have to oppose it. And we will remind our European partners about this point. We have to act in solidarity – Europe and America.
And that is precisely what Latvia will do as a member of this great Alliance.
Thank you Mr. President.
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