Estonia, Latvia Plan to Seek Reparations From Russia Over 'Soviet-Era Damage' - Tallinn

TALLINN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd August, 2018) Estonia and Latvia will look into the possibility of demanding that Russia compensate the damages the two countries suffered while they were part of the Soviet Union, the Estonian Justice Ministry said Tuesday in a press release.

"Justice ministers of the two countries stressed in their statement that it was important to honor the memory of human losses due to the Soviet occupation and study the possibilities of asking Russia to compensate the damages, as a legal successor to the Soviet Union," the press release said.

Estonian Foreign Minister Sven Mikser said back in December 2016 that it would be unreasonable for his country to seek reparations from Russia, to make demands that would not be understood by Estonia's key business partners.

In 2015, Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian justice ministers signed a memorandum of understanding to coordinate actions in seeking reparations from Russia.

The Russian leadership has repeatedly pointed out that the Baltic countries joined the Soviet Union in accordance with the legal framework of the time. The national governments had been in place in all three countries for the duration of their USSR membership, apart from the time of the World War II occupation by Germany.