Russia examines 1991 recognition of Baltic independence

[88m3]

Russia examines 1991 recognition of Baltic independence

• 30 June 2015
• From the section Europe

Klaipeda, Lithuania: Gas now arrives by ship, to reduce reliance on Russian gas pipelines
The Russian chief prosecutor's office is to examine whether the Soviet Union acted legally when it recognised the Baltic states' independence in 1991.

The investigation was described as an "absurd provocation" by Lithuania's Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were occupied by Soviet communist forces in 1940. The USSR broke up in 1991.

Last week Russia's chief prosecutor declared illegal the transfer of Crimea from Russia to Ukraine in 1954.

At the time Russia and Ukraine were republics of the USSR, under communist leader Nikita Khrushchev.

Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014 was condemned internationally. Ethnic Russians there voted to rejoin Russia, in a highly controversial referendum.

There are large ethnic Russian minorities in Estonia and Latvia, while Lithuania has a smaller ethnic Russian minority.

Baltic tensions
A source at the prosecutor's office, quoted by Russia's Interfax news agency, said the investigation into the Baltic states' independence followed a request from two parliamentary deputies.

In their letter, MPs Yevgeny Fyodorov and Anton Romanov, of President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, said the 1991 decision to recognise Baltic independence had been taken "by an unconstitutional body".

The source added that there would not be "legal consequences" if the 1991 recognition of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was deemed to be illegal.

The three Baltic states joined the EU and Nato in 2004. In recent years Russia has viewed that as a hostile challenge to its security interests.

Russian-Baltic tensions have been rising since the Crimea annexation and the outbreak of fighting in eastern Ukraine in April 2014. Heavily armed pro-Russian separatists there are clashing daily with Ukrainian government troops.

Nato has stepped up its presence in the Baltic states, responding to massive Russian military exercises, including heightened Russian air force activity in the Baltic.

Reacting to the Russian prosecutor's move, Lithuania's foreign minister called it "a provocation to say the least" and "legally, morally and politically absurd".

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33325842


Russia isn't an aggressive imperialistic monster though!

 

[CHL]

fukk Russia as a state, country, and as a motherfukking sovereign crew.

And if you down with them, then fukk you too!

 

[mbewane]

Russia ain't the one with its army all over the world though

The agreement was to not expand NATO to Russia's doorsteps, the agreement was broken

 

[I.AM.PIFF]

Russia ain't the one with its army all over the world though

The agreement was to not expand NATO to Russia's doorsteps, the agreement was broken

Yeah, at the very least Russia's dealing with its close neighbors and countries that used to be united with them (as the USSR)

Meanwhile another nation sending troops thousands of miles away from home but :frogg:

 

[88m3]

Russia ain't the one with its army all over the world though

The agreement was to not expand NATO to Russia's doorsteps, the agreement was broken

I think Russia has bases all over the world and is one of the worlds largest arms exporters...


The self determination of the baltic states doesn't matter?

Do you feel Russia has the right to reclaim it's 'misplaced' territories even if the citizens and governments of those states feel otherwise?

 

[mbewane]

I think Russia has bases all over the world and is one of the worlds largest arms exporters...


The self determination of the baltic states doesn't matter?

Do you feel Russia has the right to reclaim it's 'misplaced' territories even if the citizens and governments of those states feel otherwise?

Nope, I don't think ANY country has claims to misplaced territories or whatever. But I will point out the irony of Americans pointing the finger at Russia when no one is in the same league as the US is in terms of imperialism and meddling with countries' sovereignity.

 

[I.AM.PIFF]

Do you feel Russia has the right to reclaim it's 'misplaced' territories even if the citizens and governments of those states feel otherwise?

Nah..

 

[tru_m.a.c]

Do you feel Russia has the right to reclaim it's 'misplaced' territories even if the citizens and governments of those states feel otherwise?

Nope

 

[88m3]

Moscow is Having Second Thoughts About Giving Up the Baltic States

By John Dyer

July 1, 2015 | 5:21 pm
Russia's prosecutor-general is reviewing whether the ex-Soviet republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are legally independent countries, the Russian state-controlled Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday.

The move comes after Russian lawmakers requested the review, saying the Soviet Union illegally granted independence to the three tiny countries on the Baltic Sea in northern Europe when the communist superpower was collapsing in the early 1990s.

"The decision to recognize the Baltic States' independence is defective, as it was adopted by an unconstitutional body," an unnamed source in the prosecutor-general's office told Interfax.

The lawmakers believe that relinquishing the Baltic countries "brought great harm" to Russia and was tantamount to "state treason," Agence-France Presse reported.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite didn't welcome the news.

"No one has the right to threaten us," she said in a statement, according to Radio Free Europe. "Our independence was gained through the blood and sacrifice of the Lithuanian people."

The Baltics are particularly wary of questions about their sovereignty.

In the late 1930s, before Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union became enemies in World War II, they signed the notorious Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which contained plans to secretly divide up the Baltics between the two powers. Germany wound up occupying the three countries. When the Soviet Union pushed the Nazis out in 1944, the Russians stayed.

The United States and Western Europe didn't recognize the Soviet annexations, but Cold War tensions prevented them from doing anything about them. The Baltics reluctantly became part of the Soviet Union and rushed to declare their independence in 1990 when it became clear the Soviet Union was breaking up.

Related: Russia Is Making Tanks Stylish Again

The Baltics were also eager to join NATO in 2004 to secure their independence. Under the alliance's rules, anyone who attacks them would risk war with the United States, Germany, Britain and a host of other North Atlantic countries.

The official in the prosecutor-general's office recognized that Russia simply couldn't nullify the Baltics' independence. The decision, he told Interfax, "should take into account not only the legal but also the political aspect of the issues raised."

But Moscow's move is still disconcerting because the same the prosecutor-general ruled last year that Soviet leaders erred when they transferred ownership of Crimea from Russia to Ukraine in 1954. The opinion provided a legal rationale for Russian President Vladimir Putin's annexation of the peninsula.

Russia has been increasingly bellicose in the Baltic Region, flying warplanes close to Swedish jets, snatching Estonian border guards and raising tensions in other ways as Moscow also stokes the separatist war in eastern Ukraine.

In response, the US recently deployed tanks to the Baltics to beef up NATO forces.

Putin's endgame isn't clear, which is probably exactly how the Russian president likes it, said Michael O'Hanlon, co-director of the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence at the Brookings Institution.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he is just sort of playing with us and enjoying the fact that he himself doesn't know what he would do next," O'Hanlon told VICE News. "He's an opportunist. He presumably doesn't want World Ward III over liberating the Baltics. But he knows we probably don't want World War III for defending them. He's probing."

Related: Canada is Helping Fund Pro-Ukrainian TV to Combat Kremlin Propaganda

A crisis in the Baltics could force American generals to confront whether they want to risk the destruction of New York or Washington in a nuclear war with Putin over the Baltic capitals of Riga, Tallinn, and Vilnius, said O'Hanlon.

More likely, however, is that Putin wants to distract NATO in the north while he undermines Ukraine thousands of miles away in the south.

"I wouldn't necessarily rule out that he would try some shenanigans or at least make us worried enough about this prospect so that we might back off from some of the other robust things we would do over Ukraine," said O'Hanlon.

Follow John Dyer on Twitter: @johnjdyerjr

https://news.vice.com/article/mosco...ng-up-the-baltic-states?utm_source=vicenewsfb

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

Nope, I don't think ANY country has claims to misplaced territories or whatever. But I will point out the irony of Americans pointing the finger at Russia when no one is in the same league as the US is in terms of imperialism and meddling with countries' sovereignity.

Theres no hypocrisy on the world stage.

Suck it up

 

[ill]

Russia ain't the one with its army all over the world though

The agreement was to not expand NATO to Russia's doorsteps, the agreement was broken

Holy shyt can this please be repeated in every thread that 88 posts about Russia.

Russia is not the aggressor nor have they been. Western interests just won't give up until they own Russia financially or mentally. Russia is literally only reacting to aggression from the US, UK, EU, and NATO.

Want to overthrow a democratically elected leader in Ukraine? Ok fine but don't be upset when Russia comes to protect the citizens from the Neo-Nazis supported by the US/EU.

Want to break agreements and stage NATO soldiers in the Soviet bloc? Ok fine but don't be upset when Russia comes through and crushes their buildings.

Only one country in EU has any brains to them. Finland refuses to join NATO because they understand that poses a direct threat to Russia and will force Russia to take action. Apparently the old soviet bloc and the rest of the EU (other than Germany) haven't gotten the hint yet.

 

[I.AM.PIFF]

Holy shyt can this please be repeated in every thread that 88 posts about Russia.

Russia is not the aggressor nor have they been. Western interests just won't give up until they own Russia financially or mentally. Russia is literally only reacting to aggression from the US, UK, EU, and NATO.

Want to overthrow a democratically elected leader in Ukraine? Ok fine but don't be upset when Russia comes to protect the citizens from the Neo-Nazis supported by the US/EU.

Want to break agreements and stage NATO soldiers in the Soviet bloc? Ok fine but don't be upset when Russia comes through and crushes their buildings.

Only one country in EU has any brains to them. Finland refuses to join NATO because they understand that poses a direct threat to Russia and will force Russia to take action. Apparently the old soviet bloc and the rest of the EU (other than Germany) haven't gotten the hint yet.

I agree that the west wants a weak and dependant Russia, but you're obviously biased in favor of Russia. It's not some innocent white sheep either.

 

[JahFocus CS]

Holy shyt can this please be repeated in every thread that 88 posts about Russia.

Russia is not the aggressor nor have they been. Western interests just won't give up until they own Russia financially or mentally. Russia is literally only reacting to aggression from the US, UK, EU, and NATO.

Want to overthrow a democratically elected leader in Ukraine? Ok fine but don't be upset when Russia comes to protect the citizens from the Neo-Nazis supported by the US/EU.

Want to break agreements and stage NATO soldiers in the Soviet bloc? Ok fine but don't be upset when Russia comes through and crushes their buildings.

Only one country in EU has any brains to them. Finland refuses to join NATO because they understand that poses a direct threat to Russia and will force Russia to take action. Apparently the old soviet bloc and the rest of the EU (other than Germany) haven't gotten the hint yet.

I am fairly shocked to see a post like this from you.

 

[I.AM.PIFF]

I am fairly shocked to see a post like this from you.

How so? From reading some of his other posts, it's apparent he's pro-Russian (which isn't surprising considering he's of Russian decent).

 

[ill]

I agree that the west wants a weak and dependant Russia, but you're obviously biased in favor of Russia. It's not some innocent white sheep either.

I am biased for sure but Russias aggressions are limited to the Soviet bloc. They aren't the world police nor are they invading sovereign countries for oil.

I am fairly shocked to see a post like this from you.

I'm Russian if that explains anything. I'm not pro-Russia. Im pro-USA but I do point out the massive hypocrisy and double standards that the US plays with Russia. Its glaring and 88's running thread on all things Russia just constantly makes me shake my head at the ridiculous propaganda from both sides.