Karl Altau, JBANC
On July 23, 2024, the annual commemoration of the Welles Declaration took place in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, DC. The Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur and Acting Assistant Secretary of State Yuri Kim took part, together with the embassies of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
It was the 84th anniversary of the 1940 declaration which outlined the United States policy of non-recognition of the Soviet takeover of the three Baltic countries. That year, the statement of the Acting United States Secretary of State Sumner Welles declared the occupation of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union illegal. This position, known as the Welles Declaration, became the basis for the U.S. policy of non-recognition of the annexation of the Baltic states.
As was reiterated at the event by the speakers, standing firmly for the sovereign self-determination of countries and the principles of international law is very relevant even today, especially in connection with Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories.
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