VILNIUS, Lithuania -- The 2023 NATO summit was a "glass half full" kind of event, said a diplomat from host nation Lithuania, as delegates walked away from the July 11-12 gathering held in the forests outside the picturesque city of Vilnius.
The small Baltic state had taken on the role of host -- at tremendous cost -- with hopes that NATO could unite and send a strong message to Russia and China. Twice invaded by the Soviet Union and more recently on the receiving end of Chinese economic coercion for allowing the opening of a Taiwanese Representative Office, Lithuania has much experience being bullied by larger powers.
