Address by Mr. Lennart Meri
                    President of the Republic of Estonia
                             at the CSCE Summit

                         5-6 December 1994, Budapest

Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would begin my brief remarks by congratulating our Finno-Ugric cousins in
Hungary on assuming the chairmanship of the CSCE and thanking Italy for a
tenure of exemplary leadership.

Mr. Chairman,



I would add one more impromptu remark. This morning, I listened with great
interest, as I am sure you did, Ladies and Gentlemen, to Mr. Yeltsin's
remarks on the state of affairs with the Russian Orthodox Church in Estonia.
I believe I do not err when I judge this remark to have been critical, but
still the same, it came as a surprise. The fact is that the Russian Orthodox
Church in Estonia reports to the Patriarch of Constantinople. As a result of
the Soviet occupation of my country, the Church was subsumed under the
auspices of the Moscow patriarch, but the Church in Estonia has now
reinstated its prewar status.

This is an issue for the believers, not for the statesmen, to decide. I
think that we should try to avoid such accusations and statements, and I
call on all relevant parties to refrain from using human rights as a
propaganda agent and a political tool.



Mr. Chairman,
I conclude by wishing Hungary a successful year as Chairman, and welcoming
Switzerland as the Chairman-Elect of the CSCE.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.