Poland is a model ally today, which shows that the vote to allow it to join NATO was a good choice, Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Susan Collins, who voted in favor of ratifying the accession of Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary to the North Atlantic Alliance in 1998, told the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
In an interview conducted days before the 25 anniversary of Poland’s accession to NATO with PAP, 90-year-old Senator Grassley, the oldest member of the chamber, assured that he did not regret his decision.
“History has only confirmed that it was the right choice. Looking at it from today’s perspective, it’s hard to say anything different. Poland, more than any other country, except perhaps the Baltic states, is fulfilling its alliance obligations, and I applaud it for that,” the Iowa senator said, pointing to Poland’s investment in defense and the country’s involvement in Afghanistan.
“There is no doubt, Poland has proven to be a very valuable, model member of the Alliance,” Senator Susan Collins emphasized. She further mentioned especially admires “ Poland’s response to what happened in Ukraine, especially how many refugees the Poles took in.”
Most important step
On May 1, 1998, a historic vote took place in the U.S. Senate: the already seriously feuding Democratic Party and Republican Party unanimously voted to admit three new countries, former Warsaw Pact members, to the North Atlantic Alliance for the first time since the end of the Cold War: Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
The vote was an important step in the accession of the three countries, finalized 10 months later. Eighty senators voted in favor of the enlargement, while 19 were opposed, including the 10 most left-wing Democrats and nine of the most conservative Republicans.
“NATO has given the West half a century of security, and this is indeed the beginning of another 50 years of peace,” then-Senator and deputy chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and current U.S. President Joe Biden announced after the vote.
“History has only confirmed that it was the right choice. Looking at it from today’s perspective, it’s hard to say anything different. Poland, more than any other country, except perhaps the Baltic states, is fulfilling its alliance obligations, and I applaud it for that,” the Iowa senator said, pointing to Poland’s investment in defense and the country’s involvement in Afghanistan.
“There is no doubt, Poland has proven to be a very valuable, model member of the Alliance,” Senator Susan Collins emphasized. She further mentioned especially admires “ Poland’s response to what happened in Ukraine, especially how many refugees the Poles took in.”
Most important step
On May 1, 1998, a historic vote took place in the U.S. Senate: the already seriously feuding Democratic Party and Republican Party unanimously voted to admit three new countries, former Warsaw Pact members, to the North Atlantic Alliance for the first time since the end of the Cold War: Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
The vote was an important step in the accession of the three countries, finalized 10 months later. Eighty senators voted in favor of the enlargement, while 19 were opposed, including the 10 most left-wing Democrats and nine of the most conservative Republicans.
“NATO has given the West half a century of security, and this is indeed the beginning of another 50 years of peace,” then-Senator and deputy chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and current U.S. President Joe Biden announced after the vote.
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