On the occasion of the 36th Anniversary of the Baltic Way, honouring its historical significance when Latvians, Estonians, and Lithuanians joined hands to oppose the Soviet occupation regime by creating a human chain spanning more than 600 kilometres connecting the capitals of the Baltic States, the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly (BA) on Friday the 22nd of August adopted a statement on the ongoing shared responsibility to protect freedom of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s current struggle to defend its freedom and democracy is deeply connected to that moment in the Baltic history when two million people stood united against the oppression and began their joint journey to restoring independence, the statement says.
Members of the Parliament from Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania, in the statement, highlight the significant contribution of the West in bringing freedom and democracy to the Baltic States fundamentally altering the course of world history, and call on the Member States of the European Union and NATO to unite all means of support to end the Russian aggression against Ukraine, shielding Ukrainians from further horrors of the war initiated and sustained by Russia.
The BA statement also highlights that it is critically important to guarantee Ukraine's security in any agreement to end Russia's war, not permitting the aggressor to set the terms or decide outcomes without Ukraine’s presence, as well as to secure a stable and lasting peace in Europe.
The statement was signed by the President of the Baltic Assembly Jānis Vucāns and the Vice Presidents of the Baltic Assembly Timo Suslov from the Estonian Parliament and Giedrius Drukteinis from the Lithuanian Parliament.
About the Baltic Assembly:
The Baltic Assembly is an interparliamentary cooperation organisation of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania established on 8 November 1991. Each national parliament of the Baltic States is represented in the Baltic Assembly by 12 to 16 members of parliament. It is a coordinating and consultative organisation which has a right to express its opinion to the national parliaments and governments of the Baltic States, as well as the Baltic Council of Ministers, in the form of resolutions, decisions, declarations and recommendations; it also has a right to request the above-mentioned bodies to provide information on cross-border issues that are high on the Baltic Assembly’s agenda.
The Baltic Assembly statement in Latvian and English.
Saeima Press Service