Other events in Baltic States

One of the most significant events organised to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Russian troops leaving Estonia took place in the Parliament building, in the White Hall of Riigikogu, writes LETA/National Broadcasting.

Speeches were given by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Speaker of Riigikogu Eiki Nestor, Mart Laar, who was Prime Minister in 1992-1994, Ants Laaneots, who was the Commander of the Defence Forces at the time, ambassador Jüri Luik and Eerik Niiles Kross, who worked as a diplomat during the years 1991-1995.

On July 24, 1994, President of Estonia Lennart Meri and President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin signed the so-called July Agreements in Moscow, guaranteeing that Russian troops would leave Estonia. The last units left the Estonian territory on August 31, 1994, except for a small group of specialists who remained in Paldiski to organise the removal of instructional nuclear reactors.

President Toomas Hendrik Ilves noted in his speech that the current events in Ukraine confirm to Estonia the importance of getting the occupation army out of Estonia.

“The principal challenge of the entire first decade after the restoration of our independence was to push open the doors to the West and to step through these doors, so that we would not be pulled back into the sphere of influence of the East,” recalled the President, who 20 years ago worked as Estonia’s ambassador to the United States. He said that taking Russian troops out of Estonia was of primary importance to that end.

“Other important steps on this road were to become a Member State of the Council of Europe, of the World Trade Organisation, of the European Union and NATO. All this has been done now and we should not forget the work that resulted in it,” said the head of State.