Estonian PM to Russia: Apologize

TALLINN, Estonia, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- The prime minister of Estonia has said that Russia should apologize for the Soviet Union's occupation of his country.

Speaking to Parliament Monday, Andrus Ansip said, "Nobody can be forced to apologize. Estonia is not making anybody apologize. But Estonia is waiting for Russia to do so."

Even if Russia does apologize, however, Ansip said that Estonia may still seek compensation for the damage caused by "the Soviet-era occupation," the Russian news agency Interfax reported Tuesday.

"We know that the Russian Federation is paying compensation to people affected by repression. Naturally, our citizens have the same right as Russian citizens to receive this kind of compensation," he said.

Russia controlled Estonia from 1710 until the Russian Revolution in 1917, but Soviet troops again occupied the Baltic State after the Stalin-Hitler pact of 1939, and Estonia was part of the Soviet Union from 1940 until its independence in August 1991.