That protocol will serve as an amendment to the Treaty, and be submitted to member states for their approval. A two-thirds vote of those present in the chamber will be necessary for the U.S. Senate to give its advice and consent. A vote is likely in the spring or early summer of 1998. All NATO members must approve the three countries' candidacies for them to join the alliance. NATO officials wish to admit the states formally in April 1999.
Collective defense remains the core of the alliance.
Extending it to qualified new members will deter aggression in a traditionally unstable region. Enlargement will sustain U.S. leadership in Europe. NATO is a defensive alliance. Enlargement should not threaten Russia. NATO has no current plan or need to station either large conventional forces or nuclear weapons on the soil of new members.