During a weekly briefing the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova answered 'Vestnik Kavkaza' question about acts of glorification of war criminals of World War II in the former Soviet Union and expressed the position of the Russian Foreign Ministry regarding the latest attempts to rewrite our mutual history.
Two days ago Kiev decided to rename the Moscow Prospect to Stepan Bandera Prospect; and Armenia opened in the capital Yerevan a monument to the leader of the the notorious Nazi SS Armenian legion Garegin Nzhdeh.
Above all, Zakharova mentioned different coverage of these two events in mass media. "As for the second news [the opening of the Nzhdeh monument – editor's note], I cannot say anything I have not seen any information. But we know well about the processes in Ukraine," she said.
"Unfortunately, it is a campaign. We have been assessing the actions by Kiev from the beginning. It is rewriting and distortion of history, and building of a new generation with new relevant interests of the current Kiev authorities. Certainly, we have our own position because Russia and Ukraine share history and it is impossible to divide it. We voice our position openly, '' Foreign Ministry's spokesperson said.
According to her, the Ukrainian society's reaction to such actions is extremely important. "Certainly, there are nationalists and even extremists among those who support these solutions, but there is also a huge part of the society, which simply does not accept them. Now when there is a real civil war underway Ukraine, the situation is very different,'' Maria Zakharova pointed out.
"The entire international community, which is involved in the settlement process, tries to direct Ukraine toward consolidating of its society. The Minsk agreements mention this, because it is impossible to stop what is happening in Ukraine now without it. Consolidation of the society with the help of a political reform and the existing Constitution is the key element, because the society will not be able to move ahead and the state will not be able to develop without it,'' the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry explained.
Actions aimed at glorification of nationalists and war criminals do not contribute to the consolidation of the Ukrainian society.
"The result will be an even greater split in the society, as well a greater divide among the Ukrainians. It is similar to the situation when you rub salt into the wounds. It is an additional irritant in the society, which is completely disintegrated. Moreover, the crisis in Ukraine is internationalized. All countries in Europe are involved in the system of international relations with the Ukrainian factor. In this regard, the reaction to such things should be not only internal within the Ukrainian society, but external as well,'' Maria Zakharova urged.
"I say this on top of the fundamental things that were stated earlier in the context of rewriting the history of World War II,'' she said.
