Lithuanian Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis said on Wednesday that Lithuania supports Albania's bid to join the European Union and the NATO

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis said on Wednesday that Lithuania supports Albania's bid to join the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), according to reports reaching here. During talks with visiting Albanian Defense Minister Pandel Maiko in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, Valionis said, Lithuania, who joined the EU and NATO last year, will not forget the spirit of Vilnius cooperation, and is prepared to introduce its experiences to Albania. The 10-member Vilnius Group includes Estonia, Bulgaria, Latvia,Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia which joined NATO in March in 2004, and Albania, Croatia, Macedonia which are bidding for NATO membership. The 10 countries first met in 2000 in Vilnius in efforts to join NATO. Albania, Croatia and Macedonia signed in 2003 the Adriatic Charter with the United States, hoping to raise the chances to enter the alliance. At a NATO summit held in the Turkish city of Istanbul in July 2004, NATO leaders encouraged the three states to continue the reforms necessary for the membership. In an agreement on military cooperation signed by Lithuania and Albania in 2004, Lithuania declared support for Albania to join NATO.