[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 126 (Thursday, July 28, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3773-S3774]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              THE BALTICS

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, today is a very important date for the 
relations between the United States and the Baltic states of Estonia, 
Latvia, and Lithuania.
  Today marks 100 years of continuous, uninterrupted diplomatic 
relations between our country and each of the Baltic countries.
  Let me explain why I emphasize continuous, uninterrupted diplomatic 
relations. Last Saturday marked 82 years since Acting Secretary of 
State Sumner Welles issued a declaration that is remembered to this day 
in each of the Baltic countries. Soviet troops had entered the Baltic 
states, arrested leaders, and organized rigged elections to create pro-
Soviet government.
  The Welles Declaration decried the ``devious processes whereunder the 
political independence and territorial integrity of the three small 
Baltic Republics--Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania--were to be 
deliberately annihilated by one of their more powerful neighbors.'' It 
was a clear, principled statement that the United States would not 
recognize Soviet control over these countries as legitimate.
  During the 50 years the Soviet Union forcibly occupied Estonia, 
Latvia, and Lithuania, diplomats from each of the Baltic states 
continued their work in the United States, and we continued to 
recognize them as independent, sovereign countries under foreign 
occupation.
  The Soviet Union justified sending troops to the Baltics on the basis 
of the threat from Nazi Germany. However, just a year before, the 
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between the Nazis and Soviets contained a 
secret protocol whereby Hitler and Stalin agreed to carve up their 
neighbors into ``spheres of influence.'' Under this agreement, the 
Baltics, Finland, eastern Poland, and what is now Moldova would be 
controlled by the Soviet Union, and the rest of Poland would go to 
Germany. Finland was able to fight back in the Winter War, retaining 
its sovereignty, but losing significant territory to Russia. The rest 
of the pact played out just as Stalin and Hitler agreed.
  This isn't just history. This is directly relevant to Vladimir 
Putin's rhetoric, attitude, and actions in Ukraine. He believes he has 
a right to a sphere of influence over his neighbors just like Stalin 
and Hitler thought. To this day, Putin maintains that the three Baltics 
joined the Soviet Union in 1940 and ceased to exist as countries until 
the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Russian Duma has even 
threatened to repeal a Soviet law recognizing Lithuania's independence 
from the USSR--what a joke.
  Let's be clear: The Baltic states are not former Soviet republics. 
They have been independent countries for over a century. Following in 
Stalin's footsteps, Putin justifies attacking Ukraine, at least to 
audiences outside of Russia, as a reaction to NATO encroaching on 
Russia. Putin casts NATO as a threat, even making up a claim that NATO 
was planning to put missiles in Ukraine targeting Russia.
  The fact is, even our eastern flank allies in NATO do not currently 
have the kinds of defensive missiles they would need to repel a Russian 
invasion, which is unfortunate. Currently, we have meager ``tripwire'' 
forces that are insufficient to stop the kind of invasion we saw in 
Ukraine in February. Russia's military leaders know that NATO cannot 
begin to threaten Russian territory.
  There were no allied reinforcements in any NATO country bordering 
Russia until the invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Ukraine was militarily 
neutral then, but seeking economic ties with the European Union, thus 
slipping away from economic dependency on Russia.
  The fact that NATO has become attractive to Ukraine since Russia 
seized Crimea and part of the Donbas is a threat not to the territory 
of the Russian Federation, but to Russia's imperial desire for a sphere 
of influence. Putin blames Ukraine's westward turn on provocations by 
western intelligence agencies, failing to recognize that Ukrainians are 
making their own choices. Just like in 1940, the United States has 
refused to recognize another Russian occupation of a sovereign country 
as legitimate.
  We were once a small collection of colonies seeking to chart our own, 
independent course free from European empires. That is why the Welles 
Declaration expressed admiration for the Baltic countries as they 
pursued self-government and democracy.
  That is why the Welles Declaration made clear that the people of the 
United States oppose intervention or the use of force by large or 
powerful countries on smaller, weaker ones. That principle applies 
today to Ukraine. No one should decide Ukraine's fate except the 
Ukrainian people. True to our principles, the United States can never, 
directly or tacitly, consign Ukraine to Russia's sphere of influence.
  As we celebrate 100 years of excellent diplomatic relations with our 
Baltic allies, there is no doubt in retrospect that we were right to 
stand up for their sovereignty, even when that seemed hopeless, even 
foolish. Fifty years of Russian occupation could not turn them into 
Russians, just as centuries of Russification policies have not 
convinced Ukrainians to accept the Russian view that they are just 
``little Russians.'' The Baltic countries are thriving democracies with 
strong Western values and some of our closest allies. Thank God they 
regained their independence and are now in NATO.

[[Page S3774]]

  

                          ____________________