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Putin, Slovenian president agree to establish Russia-Slovenia Friendship Day

Vladimir Putin also thanked Borut Pahor and the Slovenian people for their efforts to preserve the memory of Russian and Soviet soldiers killed in World Wars I and II and taking care of their graves

MOSCOW, July 28. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Slovenian counterpart Borut Pahor have agreed to establish Russia-Slovenia Friendship Day, the Kremlin press service said in a statement on Wednesday following a telephone conversation between the two leaders.

"The presidents of Russia and Slovenia agreed to establish Russia-Slovenia Friendship Day that will be celebrated every year on the last Saturday in July in relation to memorial events at the Russian Chapel on the Vrsic Pass," the statement reads.

According to the Kremlin press service, Putin thanked Pahor and the Slovenian people for their efforts to preserve the memory of Russian and Soviet soldiers killed in World Wars I and II and taking care of their graves.

The heads of state also discussed pressing bilateral issues. "The parties reaffirmed their commitment to continue boosting mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, particularly in light of the upcoming 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and Slovenia, which will be marked in 2022," the statement added. The Kremlin press service said that Putin and Pahor also touched upon "some aspects of the international and regional agenda as Slovenia is presiding over the Council of the European Union in the second half of the year."

Pahor’s press service announced plans to establish Russia-Slovenia Friendship Day earlier on Wednesday. According to its statement, the Slovenian president expressed the initiative in a message to Putin on July 23 and the Russian leader supported it during today’s conversation.

Russian prisoners of war built the wooden Orthodox chapel on the Vrsic Pass in 1916 in memory of their comrades who had been killed by an avalanche when building a road in the Alps. Memorial events have been taking place at the chapel every year since the early 1990s. During World War I, at least 10,000 Russians died in Austro-Hungarian prisoner camps located in what is now Slovenia. In 2016, Putin attended celebrations dedicated to the chapel’s 100th anniversary.

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