Lithuania marks Welles Declaration anniversary and US Independence Day

Lithuania commemorated the 86th anniversary of the Welles Declaration and the 250th anniversary of US independence in a ceremony held in Washington Square, Vilnius, on Tuesday, LRT reports.

Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said the event highlighted the historical significance of the Welles Declaration for Lithuania and the US, celebrating shared values of freedom, democracy, and respect for international law.

“By marking these anniversaries, we celebrate the values that have united Lithuania and the US for decades. The principled US stance and the Welles Declaration of 1940 gave the Baltic states hope that independence could be restored,” Budrys said.

The ceremony featured the national anthems of Lithuania and the US, the raising of both countries’ flags, and a performance by the Lithuanian Armed Forces’ Volunteer Forces big band.

The Welles Declaration, issued by then-US Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles on July 23, 1940, became the foundation of the US policy of non-recognition of the Baltic states’ occupation. For five decades, the Lithuanian tricolor and the flags of the other Baltic states flew at the US State Department as symbols of this stance.

The US position inspired other European and global states to follow its example, with the declaration serving as a consistent expression of diplomatic and political support for Lithuania’s statehood aspirations.