MOSCOW, August 23. /TASS/. A number of Eastern European countries are exploiting the anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, or Treaty of Non-aggression, signed between the Soviet Union and Germany as an instrument of immediate political struggle and heightening tensions, Russian Valdai Discussion Club Board Chairman Andrey Bystritsky told TASS on Friday.

Earlier, foreign ministers of the Baltic Countries, Poland and Romania delivered a joint statement on the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact’s 80th anniversary. The ministers claimed that the pact had unleashed World War II and doomed half of Europe to decades of suffering.

"This is not about history, not about what was happening many years ago, it is about what is happening now. This is political life, political struggle, political fears and leanings. In that sense, World War II never ended, because we are living in many paradigms left by the war," the expert said, commenting on this statement.

"The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, just as much as the 1938 Munich Agreement, or the so-called Munich Betrayal, are historic events, which could be academically discussed in a sober manner, on the one hand. On the other hand, it plays a role in the immediate political struggle. Therefore, the Baltic States project their fears, concerns and bias on Russia. There is not even the slightest of ground for that," he said.

According to Bystritsky, some politicians in Eastern Europe are alarmed by the talk of a possible G8 reinstatement and they obtained an "extra reason to react." "They believe that it is favorable to paint Russia as a threat, as they believe that they will secure more assistance this way. They need to keep everybody on their toes for that, including their western partners, therefore, they need to use every chance they get to heighten this anxiety, increase this alarmism," the political scientist concluded.

Treaty of Non-aggression

The Treaty of Non-aggression between the Soviet Union and Germany, also known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, was signed by Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov and his German counterpart Joachim von Ribbentrop in Moscow on August 23, 1939.

The parties pledged to refrain from attacking each other and maintain neutrality in case a third country attacks either one of them. Simultaneously with the pact talks, the Soviet Union was negotiating a trilateral mutual assistance treaty with the United Kingdom and France in Moscow. The non-aggression pact also had a secret additional protocol enclosed, which defined and established Soviet and German spheres of influence in Eastern Europe in case of territorial and political rearrangements.

The document designated Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Eastern Poland, as well as Bessarabia as the Soviet sphere of interests, while Lithuania and Western Poland made up the German sphere.