[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 36 (Monday, February 24, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S1113]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               LITHUANIAN AND ESTONIAN INDEPENDENCE DAYS

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today is Estonia's 102nd Independence 
Day.
  Lithuania celebrated 102 years of continuous statehood on the 16th, 
and Latvia will in November.
  This is significant not just because the Baltic States are close 
American allies with shared values; it is worth noting because Russia 
has been waging war on historical truth.
  Vladimir Putin recently made the absurd claim that Poland was to 
blame for World War II.
  In 1992, Boris Yeltsin made public the secret annex to the Molotov-
Ribbentrop Pact, making it clear that the Nazis and Soviets colluded to 
carve up Poland and the Baltics.
  That also puts to lie the myth that the Baltics ``joined'' the Soviet 
Union. The United States recognized them as occupied sovereign states.
  We ought to continue to defend their sovereignty as well as 
historical truth.

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