NATO held a ceremony at its headquarters in Brussels on Friday to mark the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the United States.
Permanent representatives from NATO member states attended alongside diplomatic, military and international staff, the alliance informed.
NATO Deputy Secretary General, Radmila Shekerinska delivered remarks at the 9/11 and Article 5 Memorial with Scott Oudkirk, Chargé d’Affaires at the US Mission to NATO, and Lieutenant General William D. “Hank” Taylor, the US Military Representative to the NATO Military Committee.
“9/11 was the first and only time in NATO’s history that we have invoked Article 5,” Shekerinska said, referring to the alliance’s collective defence clause under which an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all.
Silence at the time of the first attack
A minute’s silence was held at the exact time the first attack struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center, NATO said.
Flags were flown at half-staff at NATO Headquarters, as well as at Allied Command Operations in Mons, Belgium, and NATO Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia.
