MOSCOW, May 8. /TASS/. Russia highly values the contribution of all states to the victory over the Nazis in World War II, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday at the wreath-laying ceremony at the veteran memorial plaque inside the Russian Foreign Ministry’s building.
"I want to address everyone with words of greetings on this hallowed holiday, Victory Day, which we are celebrating for the 74th time," the Russian foreign minister said. "The war was horrible, and the exceptional courage of the anti-fascists, chiefly the Soviet nations, was needed to break the back of Hitler’s Brown Plague. Our employees, whose names are eternalized in this hall, also contributed to the defeat of the fascists."
"We do not divide the victory into ours and others. We value the contribution of all states, all nations, and all partisan movements to our shared victory and presume that it couldn’t have been any other way," Lavrov stressed. "Collectively, even today we strive to prevent the horrors of World War II in the future."
Lavrov pointed to the statements from overseas that Russia’s attention to the memorial dates of the Great Patriotic War is aimed at militarizing society. "I understand that some countries would like to forget as soon as possible about the role that they played in the years of prior to World War II," the Russian top diplomat said. "However, I deem those attempts to accuse us of militarizing public opinion as offensive."
The foreign minister stated that Moscow is doing all that is possible so that "neither present nor future generations ever forgot the horrors of war and prevent their reoccurrence.".