Latvia: Russia Hands Over Last Military Facility In Baltics.

Russia gives up the last of its military facilities in the Baltics today, with the handover of a radar base to Latvian control. Without a lot of fanfare, more than half a century of Russian military presence in the Baltics is closed. It happened when Russian officials relinquished control of a radar base in Skrunda, Latvia. The base was the last vestige of the once mighty Soviet military presence in the Baltics, dating back to the forced annexation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania into the Soviet Union during World War II. Latvian Foreign Minister Indulis Berzinsh called the handover a "positive example" for relations between Riga and Moscow. Russia was scheduled to hand over the radar base four months from now. But Russian officials say moving up the date of the pullout will save them $5 million they would have had to pay to rent the base during that time. The radar station has not been in operation for more than a year. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has already confirmed that the radar has been fully dismantled. The other radar station the Russians used in Skrunda was destroyed -- literally blown up - in 1995 with American financial backing.