The four countries on the Baltic Sea that were formerly parts of the Russian Empire – Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – consolidated their borders and independence after the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian independence wars following the end of World War I by 1920 (see Treaty of Tartu, Latvian-Soviet Riga Peace Treaty and Soviet-Lithuanian Treaty of 1920). The European Great Powers accorded "de jure" recognition of Estonia and Latvia on January 26, 1921 and Lithuania on December 20, 1922. The United States extended "de jure" recognition to all three states on July 28, 1922.