'Marathon of Memory' reaches Baku

A delegation of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS countries visited Baku. The visit of the delegation to Azerbaijan takes place as part of the 'Marathon of Memory', which is dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

During its visit to the capital of Azerbaijan a solemn wreath-laying ceremony was held in the Nasimi district.

The ceremony was attended by the chairman of the Committee on Regional Affairs of the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan, Arif Ragimzade, MP Rauf Aliyev, a member of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan on socio-cultural development, Bakhytbek Smagul, the Deputy Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council - the representative of the Milli Majlis, Aydin Jafarov, the Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the IPA CIS, Valery Nuyanzin, veterans of the Republic of Azerbaijan headed by the chairman of the Board of Veterans, Major General Dadash Rzayev and veteran-participants in the 'Marathon of Memory' action from the Russian Federation, who arrived in Baku with a delegation.

Dadash Rzayev welcomed the participants and noted that the arrival of the Russian veterans on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War is proof that cultural and veteran ties are actively developing in CIS countries. "All people were involved in this terrible war. More than 700 thousand Azerbaijanis fought for the victory. 300,000 people were killed in battles. At the moment there are 1500 veteran-survivors of the war in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Our government takes care of their health and social situation," the chairman of the Board of Veterans of Azerbaijan said.

Members of the delegation met with Azerbaijani veterans of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. During the meeting an appeal from the Azerbaijani veterans to Russian President Vladimir Putin was read.

"This victory was achieved by heavy losses, inscribed in golden letters in the history of the world. This war was participated in by about 700 thousand Azerbaijanis, half of them died. 130 war veterans were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union," Report.az reports.

The letter says that Azerbaijan during the war produced more than 130 types of weapons and ammunition, and provided 80% of the fuel all over the USSR.
"Azerbaijan highly honors the memory of those who fell in the war, so May 9 is a national holiday," the appeal stated.