The Baltic Entente was the sole multilateral cooperation pact among Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, but failed to prevent Soviet occupation in 1940.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- 12 September 1934
- Signatory nations
- Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia
- Primary objective
- Joint action in foreign policy
- Nazi-Soviet Pact
- August 1939 assigned Baltic states to Soviet sphere
- Soviet invasion
- June 1940
- Formal annexation into USSR
- August 1940
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia sought collective security amid rising threats from large neighboring powers — Poland, Germany, and the Soviet Union. The three small nations recognized that coordinated foreign policy and mutual diplomatic support offered their best means of preserving sovereignty in an increasingly hostile European environment.
On 12 September 1934 in Geneva, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia signed the Treaty of Good-Understanding and Co-operation, forming the Baltic Entente. The agreement committed the three nations to joint foreign policy action and mutual political and diplomatic support in international affairs.
The Baltic Entente ultimately failed to guarantee the security of its members. The 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact placed the Baltic states within the Soviet sphere of influence. All three were invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union in June 1940 and formally annexed into the USSR in August 1940, ending their independence.
Political Outcome
The treaty was rendered ineffective by the 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact; all three Baltic states were occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union by August 1940.
Three independent Baltic states pursuing individual foreign policies
Baltic states formally annexed into the USSR following Soviet occupation