Gentlemen!

I decided to receive you in Kadriorg Palace not because you are Knights of the Ritterkreuz. I am receiving you because fighting at the front line of Estonia and defending Estonia you gave to many of my fellow countrymen the opportunity to seek asylum in democratic countries and hereby carry on the continuity of Estonia statehood.

Ensuring the continuity of Estonian state has been in one way or another the aim of all Estonians who fought in World War Two. At present I would above all like to draw attention to the fact that for the preservation of the Estonian statehood we owe our deepest gratitude to our fellow countrymen for their commitment in the United States, Sweden, Canada, Great Britain, Germany and elsewhere.

The men who fought on the front here need not have thought that in fighting under the flag of one totalitarian regime against the flag of another totalitarian regime they were actually fighting for the preservation of the Republic of Estonia and her people. Let me make this completely clear to you, gentlemen. This is the only reason why I decided to receive you and your expression of thanks. We thereby point out again how important the legal continuity has been and is for Estonia and her people. In 1991 international law enabled Estonia to return to the international scene and to restore its diplomatic relations with the democratic world.

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