Today, 26 August, in the presence of the presidents of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Iceland, the ministers of foreign affairs of the Baltic States and Iceland signed a declaration attesting to their commitment to cooperate and aim to create a safer, more innovative and competitive Nordic and Baltic State region. The declaration was signed at a historic location – Höfði House, where in 1991 the act on restoring diplomatic relations was signed.
In his address to the participants of the event, the President of Latvia emphasised: “In this room 31 years ago political and legal history was made. Iceland proved that small states can alter history. Small states are free from geopolitical ambitions, therefore they can more easily adhere to the principle of multilateralism.”
President Levits explained that this principle of multilateralism is the foundation of the order of world peace enshrined in the statutes of the UN as adopted in 1945. “By applying the principles of multilateralism we see that there are no large or small states, only states of equal standing. Iceland was an icebreaker allowing the Baltic States to be reaccepted into the international order, namely, to gain international recognition. It was an emotional event then, and it is still emotional today, because we see the importance of like-minded states around the world.”
“As regards the legal aspect of this act, Iceland created a crucial precedent in international law – re-recognition of the order of world peace, because the occupation of the Baltic States was a violation of this order,” the President of Latvia noted.
