The United States on Saturday registered impatience at the Soviet Union's delay in granting freedom to the breakaway Baltic states, and President Bush strongly hinted he would recognize their independence Monday.
U.S. sources confirmed that Bush on Monday would announce full diplomatic recognition of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which were seized by the Soviet Union on the eve of World War II.The president called Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis, who has said he wasn't bothered that the United States had not acted yet.
"I said that we would probably have something to say on Monday that would be of great interest to the people there," Bush told reporters before golfing.
"I think he understands the position of the United States," Bush said about Landsbergis, adding that the timing of the U.S. move wasn't that important. "We know where the United States stands," he said.
The Lithuanian parliament press office said Bush told Landsbergis he would be making "an important and joyous statement" in the next few days.
"Always, even during the most difficult times, we had confidence in you and America," Landsbergis told Bush.
Bush said he thanked Landsbergis for his "statesmanlike" comments, which he said "have been extraordinarily well-reasoned over the last few days."
Separately, Brent Scowcroft, the president's national security adviser, said: "Look, the outcome is not in doubt. The Baltics are going to be independent. There's no question about that."
The administration had expected the Soviet parliament to grant independence by last Friday, but that deadline came and went without any action.