“The Baltic people still remember the Soviet occupation of 1940, the lies and humiliations, the struggles of the national resistance movements, the Soviet repressions, and the marginalisation of Latvians, Lithuanians, and Estonians under the Soviet occupying regime. We understand our Ukrainian brothers, and we are doing and will continue to do everything within our power to protect the path of development chosen by the Ukrainian people towards decent life based in European values. What happened during the 50 years of occupation in the Baltics cannot repeat in Ukraine,” said Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, while opening the 41st Session of the Baltic Assembly on 28 October.
After facing the horrors of the war and occupations, and following the fall of communist regimes in Europe, the Baltic States were able to restore their independence, escape the crumbling USSR, and restore their democratic institutions. We were able to achieve this also because of the support we felt and received from the societies in other democratic states, highlighted Speaker Mūrniece. Ināra Mūrniece stated that in international relations, just as in life, someone always has to be the first to dare defend something that may not always seem advantageous in terms of realpolitik, and on the international stage, the seemingly small players may turn out to be the brave ones—in the case of the Baltic States, it was Iceland that provided immeasurable support to the Baltic people when it recognised the restoration of the independence of the Baltic States.
The Speaker of the Saeima underlined the heightened tensions of the past eight months. Russia has shaken peace in Europe by initiating a wide-scale war in Ukraine. “The parliaments and governments of the Baltic States together with their closest allies have been the vanguards in formulating both the international position and the measures against Russia since the beginning of the war. We strongly support a rule-based international order. We use our voices and diplomatic abilities at the UN, European, and transatlantic structures to influence the course of events and stop the aggressor. We have used all the tools at our disposal to provide Ukraine with political, military, and financial support in its righteous fight. The victory of Ukraine and the defeat of Russia is the only way towards lasting peace in Europe,” said Speaker Mūrniece.
“Baltic cooperation is currently focused on security and defence issues, energy and transport projects, and the fight against Russian propaganda and hybrid threats. Energy security and stability as one of the items on the agenda of the Baltic Assembly is closely linked with this war. We feel its effects every day, and the repercussions will probably linger for a long time,” said the Speaker of the Saeima.
“Our thoughts and actions are focused on stopping the aggressor and bringing Ukraine towards victory. Ukrainians are paying for our peace with their lives, but we, the Baltic States, are providing the maximum amount of support to our friends,” highlighted Speaker Mūrniece.
Saeima Press Service