Queen makes first visit to Baltic nations

Vilinus, Oct 18: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip began their first ever visit to the Baltic nations.

Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia won their independence from Moscow in the early 1990s after decades of sometimes brutal Soviet occupation and have since emerged as democracies with the fastest-growing economies in Europe.

In a speech to the Lithuanian parliament, the Queen yesterday said the three countries had managed to put behind them a turbulent and often violent past and now embraced an exciting future.

''You have emerged from the shadow of the Soviet Union and blossomed as sovereign states,'' she said.

''It is a transformation -- political, economic and social -- for which there are few parallels in the history of Europe.'' Royal advisors said the Oct. 16-20 visit to the Baltic states, which joined the European Union and NATO in 2004, would reinforce links with Britain as partners in the EU and allies in the military alliance.

Reuters