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APPEAL To CFE and To CSCE, November 9, 1990

APPEAL To The Parties To The Treaty On Conventional Armed Forces In Europe (CFE) And To The Member States Of The Conference On Security And Cooperation In Europe (CSCE) , (9 November 1990)

In connection with the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), about to be signed in Paris, the Council of the Baltic States appeals to the member states of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) as follows:

1. The Council of the Baltic States supports the upcoming CFE Treaty between NATO and the Warsaw Pact member states. This Treaty creates favorable conditions for reducing military confrontation throughout Europe, including the process of returning foreign troops to their states of origin, and, in particular, returning Soviet armed forces from the territory of the Baltic States to the territory of the Soviet Union.

2. The Council of the Baltic States notes the fact that the territory of the Baltic States is not legally part of the territory of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The Council of the Baltic States has repeatedly stressed that non-recognition of the forceful incorporation of the Baltic States into the USSR is inconsistent with the adoption of any agreernents with the Soviet Union that even indirectly involve the territories of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, since the Soviet Union does not possess any legal sovereignty over them.

In this connection, the Council of the Baltic States respectfully appends, as an integral part of this Appeal, U.S. Senate Resolution No. 334, adopted on October 10, 1990.

3. The Council of the Baltic States appeals to all of the signatories to the CFE Treaty to express their official position on non-recognition of the annexation, and thus on the de jure independent status of the Baltic States, and to refrain from legitimising the presence of or any additions ta the Soviet armed forces on their territory; otherwise that territory might be interpreted by the Soviet Union as part of the territory of the USSR. Silence on this issue might be construed by the Soviet Union as tacit recognition of the forcible incorporation of the Baltic States into the Soviet Union.

4. The principle of the territorial integrity of states, together with the right to national self-determination and to resistance against forcible annexation are cornerstones of the CSCE process.

Consequently, the Baltic States ask to be separately identified in the CFE Treaty, which would permit them to guarantee the execution and verification of this Treaty on their territories, and to participate in the activities of the Centre for the Prevention of Conflict.

5. Normal life in the Baltic States is hampered by the Soviet Union's persistent refusal to recognise the independence of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and by the continuing intimidation and violence occasioned by the presence of Soviet occupational forces on their territory. We believe that any steps by the CSCE, including the adoption of the CFE Treaty, should facilitate the peaceful restoration of the Baltic States' independence. Peace, stability, and prosperity in Europe - avowed goals of the CSCE - will not be achieved unless the CSCE takes an active role in persuading the Soviet Union to cesse its illegal occupation of the Baltic States.

Arnold Ruutel
Chairman Supreme Council Republic of Estonia

Anatolijs Gorbunovs
Chairman Supreme Council Republic of Latvia

Vytautas Landsbergis
President Supreme Council Republic of Lithuania

Vilnius, 9 November 1990

Source:
copies du texte sign� � travers l'Association des lettons des Etats-Unis