{
  "id": "96-584",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "96-584",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 100593,
      "date": "2004-08-13",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T20:10:25.978298",
      "title": "The Baltic States: U.S. Policy Concerns",
      "summary": "This report provides background and analysis on the political and economic situations on\nLithuania,\nLatvia, and Estonia (commonly collectively referred to as the Baltic states), their foreign policies,\nand U.S. policy toward them. The Baltic states achieved their long-held dream of full independence\nfrom the Soviet Union in the aftermath of the failed August 1991 coup by Soviet hard-liners. Since\n1991, the these three countries have made great strides in building democracies and free market\neconomies. They have also sought integration into Western economic and security structures, in part\nbecause they see themselves as part of the West, in part to protect themselves from instability or a\nnationalist resurgence in Russia. The Baltic states achieved these goals in 2004, joining NATO in\nMarch and the European Union in May. \n  Relations with Russia have not deteriorated since the Baltic states joined NATO, although\ntensions remain over Russian allegations of discrimination against the large Russian-speaking\npopulations in Estonia and Latvia and other issues. Some in the Baltic states are concerned about\ncontinuing Russian influence in their countries, including through large energy companies, Russian\norganized crime, and Russian intelligence agencies.\n  The U.S. government never recognized the legality of the Soviet Union's 1940 annexation of\nthe Baltic states. After the independence of the Baltic states, the United States pushed strongly for\nthe withdrawal of Russian forces from the Baltic states, sometimes performing a mediating and\nfacilitating role between the Baltic states and Russia. In 2001, the United States strongly advocated\nBaltic membership in NATO. The United States has provided significant amounts of economic aid\nto the Baltic states. Due to their success in economic reform, the Administration phased out bilateral\naid for Estonia in at the end of FY1996, and did the same for Latvia and Lithuania at the end of\nFY1999. The United States continues to provide security assistance to the Baltic states to strengthen\ntheir armed forces and help them achieve greater interoperability with NATO, as well as to improve\ntheir border security and export controls. The Baltic states have been strong supporters of U.S.\npolicy in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the war on terror, and have deployed troops to Afghanistan and Iraq. \nThis report will be updated as events warrant.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/96-584",
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "European Affairs",
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Intelligence and National Security",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}