President Lennart Meri of Estonia, President Guntis Ulmanis of Latvia and President Algirdas Brazauskas of Lithuania have signed a joint statement today on the solution of the Iraqi crisis. The Presidents of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania believe that strict compliance with international commitments, including United Nations resolutions, an uncontested obligation of every country of the world community.

''We unequivocally support the United Nations resolution of destroying chemical and biological weapons in Iraq,'' the presidents declare in their joint statement, emphasizing that the United Nations Special Commission should be allowed to continue its work without any limitations.

The Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian heads of state believe that all diplomatic avenues should be exhausted to solve the current crises, but the tree Baltic countries also support other actions of the international coalition that are necessary to guarantee compliance of Iraq with its international commitments and demolition of weapons of mass destruction. The Baltic states are ready within their means to provide support to the international coalition to ensure implementation of United Nations resolutions, the heads of state declare.

Herewith we are forwarding the complete text of the statement; the text is also accessible in the Internet at the page www.president.ee.


Information Service of the President's Office
Kadriorg, 16 February 1998

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