The text of the following statement was released by the governments of the United States of America, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania on July 22, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Welles Declaration. Source: U.S. Department of State.

Today we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Welles Declaration, which laid the foundation for the United States of America’s non-recognition policy, by which it never formally accepted the occupation and annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union.