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U.S Secretary of State lays wreath to Tomb of Unknown Soldier near Kremlin wall

Upon completion of the ceremony John Kerry talked to war veterans

MOSCOW, May 7 (Itar-Tass) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who arrived in Moscow on an official visit, has laid a wreath near the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Moscow Kremlin on Tuesday.

"Eternal memory for the heroes who died fighting for our common victory from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry," says an inscription on a white ribbon of the wreath made of white and red flowers in a pine cone frame.

A motorcade of the U.S. secretary of state which numbered twelve cars drove directly into the Alexander Garden which was closed to visitors when John Kerry arrived.

Upon completion of the ceremony John Kerry talked to war veterans. Journalists were not invited to the site. One of the veterans, Oleg Kubetsky, said that the U.S. secretary of state asked the veterans where they had been fighting during the war and also asked questions about their life at present. John Kerry congratulated all the veterans upon Victory Day.

It is noteworthy that prior to Tuesday's act in Moscow none of the U.S. top officials in the rank of the U.S. secretary of state had ever attended such ceremonies. The only similar incident took place in April 1988 when the then U.S. Secretary of State, George Schultz, upon completion of the Soviet-U.S. talks left Moscow for Kiev, where he laid flowers to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Park of Eternal Glory in memory of the heroes who died fighting against fascism.

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