President Joe Biden’s Speech at Vilnius University Concluded NATO Summit

The NATO summit in Vilnius over the course of two days was culminated on Wednesday evening with a speech by United States President Joe Biden at Vilnius University.

President J. Biden began his speech by acknowledging Lithuania's history and its fight for freedom: "It’s good to be back in Vilnius, a nation and a region that knows better than anyone the transformational power of freedom. You know, you showed the world that the strength of a people united cannot be denied. And together, with your brothers and sisters in Estonia and Latvia, you helped end the era of division through the power of connection. The Baltic Way, not the Berlin Wall, became the symbol for Europe’s future."

The United States President also mentioned the Lithuanians who fought for freedom on January 13, 1991: "And later, when Soviet tanks sought once more to deny your independence, the people of Vilnius said, “No.” And in January of 1991, tens of thousands of citizens, unarmed and unyielding, came for their own — of their own accord, standing as one to protect the TV Tower, to shield the Supreme Council, and to defend freedom.
Fourteen heroes tragically lost their lives. Hundreds were wounded. But the whole world saw that decades of oppression had done nothing to dim the flame of liberty in this country. I mean it. It’s consequential.
The light of Lithuania: You kept it strong. You kept it bright. And you kept the light shining here in Vilnius and in Washington, D.C., where the yellow, green, and red of your flag flew every day."

J. Biden emphasized the long-standing partnership between the United States and Lithuania: "As your president can yell you, the bonds between Lithuanian and the American people have never faltered. And just — just seven months after the bloody January crackdown, the first foreign visitor to have their passports stamped here in Lithuania with visas of this — to this new, reborn state were a planeload of Lithuanian Americans from Chicago, Illinois. And their families are still proud of that.
Look, many aboard that plane had fled Lithuania during the early years of Soviet oppression and marveled — marveled at their return to this independent state. One of them told reporters, quote, “This day is like a resurrection for us.” “This day, Father, is like a resurrection for us.” That’s what the quote was, for real. That’s the feeling.
And it was — a resurrection that quickly became a revelation. And a nation which stands today as a stronghold of liberty and opportunity, a proud member of the European Union and of NATO."

Continuing his speech, the United States President highlighted NATO unity: "Soon, NATO will be the 32nd freestanding members standing together to defend our people and our territory, beyond all the rest, bound by democratic values to make us strong and by our sacred oath that an attack against — it is a sacred oath — attack against one is an attack against all. Because each member of NATO knows that the strength of our people and the power of our unity cannot be denied."

According to J. Biden, we stand at inflection point in history, and the decisions made now will shape the coming decades: "As I look around the world today, at a moment of war and peril, a moment of competition and uncertainty, I also see a moment of unprecedented opportunity to make real strides toward a world of greater peace and greater prosperity, liberty and dignity, equal justice under the law, human rights and fundamental freedoms which are the blessing and birthright of all of humanity.
That — that is the world the United States is working toward. And it’s one we’ll only reach if we do it together — and I mean together.
We need to take the same spirit of unity, common purpose, determination that we have demonstrated in our response to Russian aggression in Ukraine and bring more partners along as we continue working to build a world we want to live in and a world we want for our children."