Lithuania marks 22nd anniversary of NATO membership with flag-raising ceremonies

Lithuania has commemorated the 22nd anniversary of its NATO accession with flag-raising ceremonies in Vilnius and events across the country, reports LRT citing ELTA.

The main ceremony took place at Vilnius’ Lukiškių Square on Saturday, where the Lithuanian and NATO flags were solemnly hoisted. The event featured the Lithuanian Armed Forces’ Honour Guard Company, a platoon of the Lithuanian Military Academy carrying the flags of NATO member states, and a parade of allied forces stationed in Lithuania. National anthems were performed during the ceremony.

In Šiauliai, the anniversary was marked with the traditional “Runway Run 2025,” a 3-kilometre race along the military airfield’s runway. The event drew participation from Lithuanian and allied troops, organisations, and individual enthusiasts.

Lithuania officially became a full NATO member on March 29, 2004, when then-Prime Minister Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas, alongside leaders of six other countries, submitted ratification documents of the Washington Treaty to US Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington, DC.

The path to membership began in 1994, when President Brazauskas sent a formal letter to NATO Secretary-General Manfred Wörner expressing Lithuania’s aspiration to join the alliance. The request was backed by a cross-party parliamentary consensus.