A member of Russia’s State Duma on Wednesday submitted a bill to the country’s parliament to rescind Russia’s recognition of Lithuania’s independence, saying such a move could allow Russia to deport NATO to eastern countries that joined the Atlantic after 1999 joined the alliance.
With around three million inhabitants, Lithuania is the most populous of the Baltic States. The country, which broke away from the USSR not without difficulty in 1990, chose to move away from the Russian sphere of influence, then opted for a Euro-Atlantic policy, joining NATO in April 2004 and then the European Union on May 1, 2004.
Russia wants to oust NATO from Eastern Europe
The bill presented Thursday, June 8 by Evgueni FiodorovDeputy of the State Duma and member of the party “United Russia” of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The text was submitted by the Chairman of the State Duma to the State Duma Committee on International Affairs on Thursday afternoon.
The Russian politician claimed that such a situation would allow Russia to negotiate with NATO and force the military alliance to withdraw from the nations that were part of the USSR in 1990, which included at least Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania would exclude Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia.
Russia: “The State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation will be submitted for consideration the draft federal law “On the repeal of the Decree of the State Council of the USSR ‘On the recognition of the independence of the Republic of Lithuania’.”https://t.co/ L1WAWmuwJw pic.twitter.com/XqYkVKn9VU
— Rebecca Rambar (@RebeccaRambar) June 9, 2022
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian officials and media have repeatedly bemoaned the independence of former Soviet republics and raised concerns that Russia might attempt to invade other former members of the USSR.
The USSR State Council also recognized the independence of Latvia and Estonia in September 1991.
In a February 21 speech, Putin called Ukraine a “historically Russian country” and called the granting of sovereignty to the Soviet republics “truly fatal” and “historic and strategic mistakes.”
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In the justification for the draft law, Fyodorov claimed that the decision of the USSR State Council to recognize the independence of the Republic of Lithuania in 1991 was “illegal”.
Fedorov noted that Lithuania had not held a referendum on secession from the USSR before recognizing its independence and had not set a transitional period to consider all “contentious issues”. Despite Fyodorov’s claims, a referendum on independence actually took place in Lithuania on February 9, 1991 (months before recognition by the USSR State Council), with 91% of voters expressing support for the country’s independence. The referendum came after violent and deadly clashes between the Soviet army and Lithuanian civilians demanding independence.
Finally: “Only a state ruled by beasts could start a war like the one started by Russia. I’m not surprised that they don’t behave according to human standards in politics.” In this sense, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis reacted particularly after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.