THREE BALTIC FOREIGN MINISTERS AND THE U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE PAID TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF FREEDOM FIGHTERS IN VILNIUS
On July 1 in Vilnius at the Seimas (Parliament) Audronius Ažubalis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Girts Valdis Kristovskis, Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Urmas Paet, Estonian Foreign Minister held a meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and paid a tribute to the memory of freedom fighters. Together with Irena Degutienė, Speaker of the Seimas (Parliament), the Baltic Foreign Ministers and the U.S. Secretary of State laid a wreath at the memorial for freedom defenders at the Seimas.
The head of the Lithuanian diplomacy reiterated the importance of unity of the Baltic States in their successful struggle for freedom and thanked the U.S.A. for many years of support and for the policy of non-recognition of the annexation of the Baltic States.
"Every time when we remember the defenders of freedom, who struggled many years with dedication and without sparing their lives, so that thanks to them we could restore our independent and democratic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, we also remember our brothers in arms abroad. The U.S.A. is undoubtedly in the first rank among them. Fully aware of the importance of the freedom of thought, we now fully support the spread of democracy and the strengthening of democratic societies in the region," Ažubalis said.
The Minister also congratulated his counterparts on the 20th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia with the United States.
