WASHINGTON, April 25. /TASS/. The US side did not authorize Russian diplomats to lay flowers at Arlington National Cemetery in memory of the meeting of Russian and American forces at the Elbe River for the second year in a row, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said Monday, adding that such an attitude is insulting.

"The embassy was forbidden from carrying out the traditional ceremony of laying flowers at the Spirit of the Elbe memorial plaque at Arlington National Cemetery for the second year in a row," Antonov said in a written commentary, dedicated to the 78th anniversary of Elbe Day. "It becomes increasingly difficult for us to convey to Washington the importance of preserving memories and of joint work to honor the heroes of those times," the diplomat noted.

"Last December, our diplomats were not allowed to visit the National Ford Richardson Cemetery in Anchorage, where Soviet pilots are buried, who died in 1942-1945 while relocating planes from the US to the USSR via the Alaska-Siberia route. Such an attitude is insulting not only for the veterans of the two countries, but for everyone who remembers their great feat," Antonov noted.