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MOSCOW (AP) — A request by Russian lawmakers to check the legality of Soviet recognition of the independence of three ex-Soviet Baltic republics makes no sense, the Prosecutor General's office said Wednesday.
Spokeswoman Marina Gridneva said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies that the office is obliged to pick up any request by lawmakers but added this one "has no legal prospects."
Two lower house members have asked prosecutors to look into Soviet authorities' decision in September 1991 to recognize the independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The lawmakers argued that the State Council created by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev wasn't authorized to make such a decision.
The motion has caused uproar in the Baltic nations, which are now members of the European Union and NATO. It is also widely seen there as proof of Moscow's aggressive intentions toward them amid a Russia-West showdown over Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, dismissed the move as meaningless. "Frankly speaking, I have trouble grasping the sense of it," he said of the lawmakers' request, adding that the Kremlin was unaware of the move.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also said he knew nothing about the initiative. "All I know is that we have diplomatic relations and inter-state agreements with the Baltic nations, and I have nothing to add to that," he said.
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