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Putin’s speech at World Holocaust Forum in Israel expected to be interesting — Kremlin

The Russian president will touch upon some international problems in his speech

MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/. In his address to participants of the Fifth World Holocaust Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin will focus on the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp by the Red Army, will once more focus on the inadmissibility to distort history and will touch upon some pressing international issues, Kremlin Aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Wednesday.

According to Ushakov, on Thursday Putin will deliver a speech at the World Holocaust Forum entitled ‘Remembering the Holocaust: Fighting Antisemitism.’

"Our president will be the first among foreign participants to give a speech, right after Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, the Israeli prime minister and President of the European Jewish Congress Viatcheslav Kantor, who personally organizes and funds the forum," the Kremlin representative said.

"In his speech, our president will tell about the Soviet Union’s pivotal contribution to the victory over Nazism and will remind that our forces liberated the Auschwitz on January 27, 1945. Now this day is defined by the UN General Assembly as international Holocaust Remembrance Day," Ushakov noted.

According to the presidential aide, "Obviously, the president will be speaking a lot about the inadmissibility of attempts to falsify history and revise the outcome of World War Two."

"Recently, discussions have intensified around the issue, in particular after our president’s well-known speech at the informal summit of CIS leaders in St. Petersburg in December," Putin’s aide stated.

Ushakov added that the Russian president "will touch upon some international problems" in his speech.

"In our opinion, it will be a very interesting speech. Moreover, our president will act as the main foreign guest," Ushakov said.

 

Monument to residents of besieged Leningrad

 

Apart from that, Ushakov said that Putin would attend a solemn ceremony to unveil a commemorative bronze stele named Candle of Memory in downtown Jerusalem. The monument is dedicated to the heroism of defenders and residents of besieged Leningrad (the name of the Russian second-largest city of St. Petersburg in 1924-1991) during Second World War. A capsule containing soil from St. Petersburg’s Piskarevskoe Memorial Cemetery (the largest mass burial site of World War Two) will be laid in its foundation. The memorial was designed by architects from Israel and St. Petersburg upon an initiative by the World War Two veterans, survivors of the Siege of Leningrad and Russian compatriots who now live in Israel, along with the authorities of St. Petersburg.

"During his stay in Israel, the president is scheduled to hold another war-related event. It is an awarding ceremony when relatives of Leon Feldgendler, a hero in the uprising of prisoners at the Sobibor death camp, will be handed the Order of Courage," the Kremlin representative noted.

Ushakov recalled that Feldgendler "alongside Soviet officer Alexander Pechersky organized and inspired the uprising and escape of the prisoners at the Sobibor death camp."

The Kremlin official pointed out that the ceremony would take place at the presidential hotel suite in Israel.

Talks with Netanyahu

Ushakov informed that on Thursday Putin would hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"There will be another dialogue. We are building a very intensive relationship with the Israeli prime minister," the Russian presidential aide stated.

According to Ushakov, the talks "will touch upon bilateral ties in all the fields, including trade and the economy. In addition, they will share views on international and regional problems."

"Traditionally, the focus will be placed on the Middle East, including escalation around Iran, the situation in Syria and the state of affairs in the Israeli-Palestine settlement," Ushakov added.

Ushakov said that "Putin will hold separate talks with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin."

 

World Holocaust Forum

 

The Fifth World Holocaust Forum, marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and international Holocaust Remembrance Day, will be held in Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial center under the patronage of Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin. Heads of state and government from 46 countries, including Russia, France, the United States, Austria, Greece, Germany, Italy and Ukraine, are expected to take part in the forum.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his willingness to come to Israel for the World Holocaust Forum at his talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Sochi on September 12, 2019.