MOSCOW, July 18. /TASS/. Moscow and Lima have a lot of potential for cooperation, Alexander Shchetinin, the director of the Latin American Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said at a wreath-laying ceremony at a Novodevichy Cemetery cenotaph in memory of Soviet specialists who died in a plane crash as part of a humanitarian mission to Peru after the 1970 earthquake.
"Peru is a long-standing and good partner of Russia. We are convinced that our cooperation has great potential. The memory of the victims brings us closer together. We will continue to cherish it," the diplomat said.
Peruvian Ambassador to Russia Juan Genaro del Campo Rodriguez also spoke at the ceremony. He noted that "thanks to the exemplary courage and heroism of Soviet rescuers, ties between Peru and Russia will grow stronger each day."
"Our countries will continue to develop their political, economic, and trade relations and will continue cooperation in science and education," the ambassador said. "Every year, the entire Peruvian Embassy comes here to honor the memory of the Soviet rescuers and reiterate that their efforts will forever remain in our memory."
Relatives of the perished Soviet pilots, medical workers and rescuers also took part in the wreath-laying ceremony.
About the plane crash
On May 31, 1970, a catastrophic earthquake shook Peru, killing about 100,000 people. The USSR provided significant financial and technical assistance to Peru in disaster relief efforts. On July 18, an An-22 aircraft flew with a cargo of food and medicines to Peru, but it went off the radar after a layover at the Icelandic airport Keflavik. Twenty-two people were killed. To honor the memory of those who died in the crash, a cenotaph was erected at Novodevichy Cemetery in 1977.