Lennart Meri, President of the Republic of Estonia, and Valdas Adamkus, President of the Republic of Lithuania, gave a joint press conference in Tallinn on the occasion of the Lithuanian President's state visit.

President Meri reiterated that the unity and solidarity of the Baltic politics is as important today as it was in the days of the Baltic Chain, when Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania restored their independence. ''One by one, we are easy to defeat, but no one can do it when we are together,'' President Meri said.

As the President said, the relations of the three Baltic States can not be viewed as a sports contest. ''It is not the question of who is the first in the finish, but of what comes after the finish,'' President Meri said. He confirmed that stable and wealthy Europe is the common goal of all three States. ''The solidarity of the Baltic States is not born of fear or negative experiences, but of peaceful knowledge that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are states with European culture, who have gained much of living on the borderline of Central and Eastern Europe,'' the President said. As he said, knowledge of Russia is sound capital for the Baltic States, and they will be glad to share it with the European Union and NATO.

President Meri reiterated to the journalists, that it is right to use correct geopolitical terminology. According to Meri, East Europe starts with Estonia's eastern border After the fall of the Berlin wall and the German capital's return to Berlin, it is correct to use the phrase ''Central Europe'' also for Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Meri emphasised that this geopolitical definition is not meant to indicate anything unpleasant about Russia, which is situated in Eastern Europe. As the Estonian President said, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are with honest sympathy following the efforts of Russia's democratic forces to establish democracy and market economy. ''Ten years ago, the Baltic States were not as optimistic about Russia as the West, and neither are they as pessimistic today,'' President Meri said.

Speaking of Chechnya, President Meri said that the military – who are looking for military solutions – have free hands in a situation, where only a political solution could have been possible. As President Meri said, Estonia sympathises with the innocent victims. He also expressed his hope that OSCE and the United Nations would more actively assume their positions about a situation that first and foremost causes the suffering of innocent civilians.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, October 4, 1999

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