The delegations of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan issued a joint statement on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War at the 28th session of the UN Human Rights.
"Seven decades separate us from the historic victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. May 9 is a holiday with tears in our eyes and the embodiment of the immortal feat of people to defend their homeland. This day will forever remain a symbol of their dedication and heroism. Our people have made a enormous and decisive contribution to the defeat of Nazism," the Russian Foreign Ministry cited the statement.Representatives of the CIS countries noted that "the Second World War caused unprecedented suffering and destruction. It was one of the greatest tragedies that has befallen the people of the world. The war lasted six years and claimed millions of victims. The people of our countries have suffered the greatest human and material losses.""We appreciate the courage of the people of Europe and around the world who resisted Nazism with us," the statement said.At the same time, the delegations noted that they are anxiously watching "cynical attempts to bury the lessons of the war, to distort the moral and legal evaluation of its results, to equalize victims and executioners, to desecrate the cherished memory of the fallen, to rehabilitate Nazi war criminals and collaborators, to revive the theory of racial or ethnic superiority."The participants "are convinced that such manifestations must be fought. You cannot turn a blind eye to them for the sake of political ambitions and opportunistic interests."
"Seven decades separate us from the historic victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. May 9 is a holiday with tears in our eyes and the embodiment of the immortal feat of people to defend their homeland. This day will forever remain a symbol of their dedication and heroism. Our people have made a enormous and decisive contribution to the defeat of Nazism," the Russian Foreign Ministry cited the statement.
Representatives of the CIS countries noted that "the Second World War caused unprecedented suffering and destruction. It was one of the greatest tragedies that has befallen the people of the world. The war lasted six years and claimed millions of victims. The people of our countries have suffered the greatest human and material losses."
"We appreciate the courage of the people of Europe and around the world who resisted Nazism with us," the statement said.
At the same time, the delegations noted that they are anxiously watching "cynical attempts to bury the lessons of the war, to distort the moral and legal evaluation of its results, to equalize victims and executioners, to desecrate the cherished memory of the fallen, to rehabilitate Nazi war criminals and collaborators, to revive the theory of racial or ethnic superiority."
The participants "are convinced that such manifestations must be fought. You cannot turn a blind eye to them for the sake of political ambitions and opportunistic interests."
According to the vice-president of the Russian Council on International Affairs, the former head of North Ossetia, Alexander Dzasokhov, "the anniversary provides a valuable opportunity for today's politicians and statesmen of the Commonwealth states to employ the lessons of World War II."
He told Vestnik Kavkaza that "it is generally accepted in military history that it was the solidarity, friendship and mutual support of the peoples that formed the historical Russia and the Soviet Union were the factors in the victory in the Great Patriotic War."
According to him, "if we, the peoples of the Soviet Union, would meet this anniversary in a different geopolitical situation and in a calm atmosphere, then perhaps this focus would not be required. But unity is invaluable, because at that time we had one goal that united us."
The diplomat noted that currently acts of vandalism against places of memory of the Great Patriotic War are being committed, as well as "attempts to falsify the role of our country." So, as Dzasokhov noted, "the question of protection of monuments of World War II is not just a moral value, monuments are designed to prevent rolling in the falsification, when the pages of history are revised. But there is such a propaganda war now, so it is natural to put forward these questions to the very forefront of practice."
