France Foreign Relations Lithuania

President Mikhail S. Gorbachev on Saturday again opened a potential path of compromise for Lithuania, the Soviet Union's secessionist republic, suggesting that it "freeze" its unilateral declaration of independence, but Lithuanian leaders remained critical of the Kremlin's terms. Arkady A.

More than 50 years ago, the government of free Lithuania, afraid for its existence, asked France to store 2.2 tons of gold until the day Lithuania was free again. That day came Thursday. French Foreign Minister Roland Dumas shook hands with Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis and told him France recognizes Lithuania's restored statehood and will return the gold.

Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis said Thursday that he will carefully study a proposal from France and West Germany that the Baltic republic temporarily suspend its independence drive. The letter from French President Francois Mitterrand and West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, delivered to Lithuanian representatives in Moscow, said such a suspension could lead to talks with the Kremlin "so that the current crisis ends in a solution acceptable to all parties."

The Soviet Union's three Baltic republics, frustrated so far in their efforts to secede and re-establish their independence, Thursday took the first concrete step toward forming a united front to battle Moscow together. Faced with the Kremlin's three-week-old partial economic blockade of Lithuania and its threats of similar measures against Estonia and Latvia, the nationalist governments in the three republics created a common market in agricultural produce and in farming equipment and supplies.

More than 50 years ago, the government of free Lithuania, afraid for its existence, asked France to store 2.2 tons of gold until the day Lithuania was free again. That day came Thursday. French Foreign Minister Roland Dumas shook hands with Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis and told him France recognizes Lithuania's restored statehood and will return the gold.

The Soviet Union's three Baltic republics, frustrated so far in their efforts to secede and re-establish their independence, Thursday took the first concrete step toward forming a united front to battle Moscow together. Faced with the Kremlin's three-week-old partial economic blockade of Lithuania and its threats of similar measures against Estonia and Latvia, the nationalist governments in the three republics created a common market in agricultural produce and in farming equipment and supplies.

President Mikhail S. Gorbachev on Saturday again opened a potential path of compromise for Lithuania, the Soviet Union's secessionist republic, suggesting that it "freeze" its unilateral declaration of independence, but Lithuanian leaders remained critical of the Kremlin's terms. Arkady A.

Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis said Thursday that he will carefully study a proposal from France and West Germany that the Baltic republic temporarily suspend its independence drive. The letter from French President Francois Mitterrand and West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, delivered to Lithuanian representatives in Moscow, said such a suspension could lead to talks with the Kremlin "so that the current crisis ends in a solution acceptable to all parties."