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On December 13, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis and his French counterpart Hubert Vedrine signed an agreement according to which France will acquire the Lithuanian prewar Embassy building currently occupied by Russian representatives. Formally the Embassy premises belong to Lithuania by the right of property. However, they are occupied by Russian personnel that enjoys diplomatic immunity. Following Lithuania’s occupation in 1940 the municipality of Paris evicted Lithuanian diplomats from the building. After World War II the Embassy building was handed over to the Soviet Union. Russia “inherited” the building after the collapse of the USSR. Since Lithuania is unable to utilize the building due to the above mentioned reasons, the agreement envisages that Lithuania will sell the Embassy building to France for an agreed sum. This agreement will finally resolve the issue, which has been the subject to negotiations since the re-establishment of Lithuania’s independence in 1990. On December 13, Latvian and Estonian Foreign Ministers signed analogous agreements with the French Foreign Minister. ----------------------- See also The Baltic legations in Paris. Statements by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson (Paris, December 13, 2001)