The Baltic states will sign an agreement with France to receive compensation for pre-war embassies

The Baltic states will sign an agreement with France to receive compensation for pre-war embassies that were taken over by the Soviet Union and never returned. No details were immediately available, but the deal is thought to include monetary compensation for the embassies, seized by the Nazis in 1940 and later handed over to the Soviets. BNS said the long-awaited agreement would be signed Thursday in Paris by French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine and Baltic officials. The Baltic states argued that the buildings were legally theirs, but Moscow consistently rejected their demands to turn them over. The issue had been a blot in otherwise good relations between the Baltics and France, which was careful not to offend the Kremlin by asking that the Russians leave the disputed embassies. The matter was high on the agenda when French President Jacques Chirac' visited the Baltic states earlier this year—during which the outlines of a deal were drawn up. It reportedly included payments by France of several million dollars—which would likely be used by Baltic governments to build or buy news embassy buildings. Chiras said at the time that the main sticking point was never money but what he said was an understandable point of principle.