Latvia states of Northern and Eastern Europe were divided into German and Soviet "spheres of influence". In the north, Latvia, Finland and Estonia were assigned to the Soviet sphere. A week later, on 1 September 1939, Germany and on 17 September, the Soviet Union invaded Poland. After the conclusion of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, most of the Baltic Germans left Latvia by agreement between Ulmanis' government and Nazi Germany under the Heim ins Reich programme. In total 50,000 Baltic Germans left by the deadline of December 1939, with 1,600 remaining to conclude business and 13,000 choosing to remain in Latvia. Most of
BALTOPS port call at Gdynia represented the first visit by United States Navy vessels to Poland since 1927. Since 1993 it has been a major contributor to the NATO programme Partnership for Peace, which aims to strengthen and create trust amongst former Soviet Union states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) its former satellites (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia) and NATO. All these states have since joined NATO. Common participants are (but not limited to): Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America (commanding country) The 26th annual maritime exercise