15 January 1998
(Discuss U.S.-Baltic Partnership Charter) (930) Washington -- The Baltic countries regard the U.S.-Baltic Partnership Charter "as another signpost" along the path leading to their full integration into European and transatlantic institutions, Estonian President Lennart Meri told a press briefing January 15. "It is not a substitute for NATO. It is not a substitute for NATO membership; on the contrary, the charter is moving us closer to NATO. It clearly indicates and it clearly states the United States' policy agenda on the security of the Baltic region and Europe as a whole." Meri shared the podium at the National Press Club with Presidents Guntis Ulmanis of Latvia and Algirdas Brazauskas of Lithiania the day before they were to join President Clinton at the White House to sign the Partnership Charter. Meri said the European Union's invitation to Estonia to begin accession negotiations "strengthens joint Baltic efforts towards reintegration with the West, for putting at least one Baltic state in the first group virtually assures that our neighbors are next in line. This really is a case of 'one for all and all for one.'" The U.S.-Baltic Partnership Charter, he said, "symbolizes a new phase in the debate over NATO enlargement to the Baltic states. I would call it an implementation phase. The charter designates practical tools for the preparation of our defenses. And more importantly, it also reflects the level of political will and commitment our countries are ready to invest in this process." He added that "allies and partners, like NATO and Russia, do not need a band of neutral states to stand in between them. They could benefit from as close contact as possible, building on the mutual confidence and trust that already exists." Latvian President Ulmanis pointed out that the charter will facilitate cooperation on security and economic issues, adding, "Such enhanced cooperation with the U.S.A. is an essential element in the course of development of Latvia, leading to the European Union, NATO, integrated Northern European region, and good neighbor relations with Russia." He said the U.S.-Baltic charter is not a compromise, but "common sense. It is practical, realistic, and purposeful. And these three words also comprise the relationships between the Baltic states, transatlantic relationships, and also the relationship with Russia." The "spirit of the charter," Ulmanis said, strengthens the security of Latvia, facilitates "a mutually profitable economic cooperation," and strengthens the Baltic Sea region. Additionally, "the charter confirms the concern of the Baltic states and the U.S.A. in stable and democratic development processes in Russia. We all want to see an open, cooperative Europe-oriented Russia. In Latvia today, we feel the emergence of a more distinct Russian policy in the Baltic region. We welcome Russian attempts to find ways to how to increase mutual trust and develop a positive attitude toward the future." Ulmanis offered Latvia's capital, Riga, as a site for the first meeting of the U.S.-Baltic Partnership Commission, to be set up as a result of the charter. Lithuanian President Brazauskas noted the Baltic countries' interest in joining NATO, the European Union, the World Trade Organization, and other institutions as part of an integrated, secure, and undivided Europe. "And indeed, while integrated into NATO, the European Union, WTO and other international institutions, we also have to do our homework; that is, we have to maintain, follow, and foster all the democratic standards and values accepted throughout the world," Brazauskas said. "And certainly such provisions included under the charter, which are relating to the respect of human rights, freedom of the press, and the right to accede to different alliances and organizations, should be respected." Asked by a correspondent from the Russian News Agency Tass to explain how the charter could improve the Baltic countries' relations with Russia, which strongly opposes their joining NATO, President Meri said, "You just have to believe what I just told you. That's the simplest answer to your question. And I can assure you that we Estonians are as interested as you are in looking forward and not into the past." He added that "human rights of the Russian minority is a central problem of the Estonian community. We are fully aware of that. We have the obligation to guarantee all the human rights to our Russian minority.... I think that's a good example, how securing Estonia's future, securing the future of the minorities living in Estonia, we can build bridges not only to the East but, what is much more important, into the future." Brazauskas stressed that "the U.S.-Baltic charter is not directed against a third country or third country groups. In fact, a number of clauses and provisions included in this charter could be easily found in other international instruments as well as in bilateral agreements signed between the countries of the region where we live, like Russia, Belarus, or the Scandinavian countries." A statement in the charter on the right of each state to individual and collective self-defense and to choose its own security arrangements, Brazauskas said, "is enshrined in a number of international documents," including the NATO-Russia Founding Act. "So therefore I don't think that those statements are against somebody or against something.... I do not consider that the charter will worsen the relationship in general and relationship of our countries with neighbors in particular. On the contrary, it is actually the facilitation of our promotion of cooperation further in the future with all the countries, Russia among them."