Baltic States ask media not to call them 'former Soviet Republics'
The ambassadors of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia sent a letter to the Le Monde newspaper with a request not to call their countries "former Soviet republics" in their articles, as stated on the website of the Latvian Embassy in France.
The reason for the letter was an article in the French newspaper Le Monde from September 3 about Finland's struggle with the "hybrid threat" from Russia.
In the article, a map of Finland and the Baltic States was published where they were called "former Soviet republics."
In the letter, the diplomats highly appreciated the interest of the French publication to the region, however it was also pointed out that the Baltic countries were “illegally occupied and annexed by the USSR” in 1940, which European states, including France, did not recognize.
The letter notes that the refusal to recognize the annexation of the Baltic states to the USSR ensured the continuity of the statehood of the Baltic countries and the restoration of independence after the collapse of the USSR.