 Following the first news reports from Lithuania, the government of Norway appealed to the United Nations.The government of Poland expressed their solidarity with the people of Lithuania and denounced the actions of the Soviet army.The reaction from the United States government was somewhat muted as the U.S. itself was heavily preoccupied with the imminent onset of Operation Desert Storm against Iraq and worried about possible wider consequences if they were to offend the Soviets at that critical juncture.