B3-0412 and 0420/94

Resolution on the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Baltic states

The European Parliament,

A.having regard to its resolution of 23 April 1993 on the situation in the Baltic republics, which called on Russia to do all in its power to accelerate the withdrawal of all troops of the former Soviet Union from the Baltic states and, at the same time, recommended that, if the agreements on the withdrawal of Russian troops were not honoured, the Community should consider the possibility of re-examining its aid to and economic relations with Russia,

B.believing that it is in the interests of all the inhabitants, including the Russian-speaking minorities, of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania that good relations be established between the Baltic states and Russia,

C.having regard to the document signed in Moscow on 15 March 1994 between Latvia and Russia on the withdrawal of Russian troops by 31 August 1994,

D.whereas the negotiations between Estonia and Russia on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Estonia have not yet been completed,

E.whereas, on 1 September 1993, the Community and its Member States expressed the hope that 'Russia will accept and implement timetables for early and complete withdrawal from Estonia and Latvia........, without linkage to other problems',

F.whereas, on 18 March 1994, the European Union confirmed that it expected the full withdrawal of Russian troops from Estonia to be completed by 31 August 1994,

G.deploring the recent statements by members of the Russian Government and other political figures according to which the Baltic states are a region of vital interest for Russia, and which claim 'inspection rights' for Russia over the neighbouring countries in general, including the permanent stationing of Russian troops outside the frontiers of Russia,

H.astonished by the decree signed by President Yeltsin on 5 April 1994 in which it was stated that the Russian Ministry of Defence, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, intended to establish military bases on Latvian territory,

I.aware that the Russian ambassador in Riga has since declared the decree to have been the result of a 'technical error', and conscious of the dangers of ambiguity in such sensitive matters,

1.Appeals to President Yeltsin to declare officially and publicly that Russia has no intention of establishing or maintaining military bases in the Baltic states, and calls on the Russian Government to honour its commitments on the early and complete withdrawal of its troops from Latvia and Estonia;

2.Calls on all the parties concerned to sign and ratify the agreements under which all Russian troops will be withdrawn from the Baltic states by 31 August 1994;

3.Calls on the Council to make provision for steps to be taken to ensure that the Declaration of the July 1992 CSCE Summit of Heads of State and Government on the swift, orderly and total withdrawal of foreign troops from the territory of the Baltic states is implemented;

4.Stresses the need to respect the human rights of the Russian minorities in the Baltic states, both as a matter of principle and because discrimination against them inevitably provokes a nationalist reaction in Russia;

5.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, President Yeltsin and the Governments of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.