US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo compares the Tartu Peace Treaty, concluded in 1920, with the US Declaration of Independence.
This was announced in his congratulatory telegram sent to Estonia on the occasion of the 102nd anniversary of state independence of the republic and the 100th anniversary of the conclusion of the Tartu Peace Treaty.
“Both the Tartu Peace Treaty and the Declaration of Independence of the United States speak of a spirit of self-determination, the right of nations to put an end to foreign rule on their territory and achieve their independence, as our declaration says: to ensure certain inalienable rights, including life, freedom and happiness ”, – quotes Pompeo Interfax.
According to him, these values are an integral part of the identity of Estonia and the United States.
The Tartu Peace Treaty was concluded on February 2, 1920. According to the document, the RSFSR recognized Estonia’s independence, a state border and neutral bands were established between the countries, as well as Ivangorod and part of the Pechora region departed to the Baltic republic. In 1940, Estonia became part of the USSR; the treaty ceased to be in force.
In early February, Speaker of the Estonian Parliament, Henn Põlluaas, announced that the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty with Russia continues to be valid.
In the Russian Foreign Ministry, commenting on the statements of the Estonian leadership on the Tartu Peace Treaty, they noted that such statements indicate that “the political elites of these countries have problems with the past and not with the future.”
The expert Vladimir Shapovalov, commenting on the statement, noted that such references to historical documents do not make sense and create serious problems in the development of Russian-Estonian relations.