President Dmitri Medvedev (1965- ) (left) and President Aleksandr Lukashenko (1954- ) of Belarus at the Brest Hero-Fortress Memorial
Russia and Belarus condemned revisionists who distort the history of World War II. The statement was in a declaration signed by Presidents Dmitri Medvedev and Aleksandr Lukashenko in Brest in Belarus. It is symbolic that the meeting took place at the Brest Hero-Fortress Memorial, where, on 22 June 1941, Soviet troops stationed there were the first to resist the Nazi aggressors…
“The 22d of June is a very tragic and, at the same time, special page in the history of Russia and Belarus”, Mr Medvedev said. “The feat performed by the Soviet soldiers at the time deserves eternal memory. The defence of the Brest Fortress shall always remain one of the most important pages of our common military history. We bow low to those who liberated our Motherland at the cost of their lives…”
Meanwhile, nowadays, some countries, mainly the Baltic states and the Ukraine, try to distort the results and lessons of World War II. Some there even regard Nazism as a heroic movement and pay honour to pro-Hitler collaborators. The parliament of Lithuania banned both Nazi and Soviet symbols, despite the fact that the Soviet army made the greatest contribution to the victory over Nazi Germany. Politically-motivated approaches must be opposed with honest academic debates. Otherwise, Europe shall not learn the lessons of its tragic and complicated history, according to the text of the declaration.
The sides emphasised the importance of further intensifying the strategic partnership between Russia and Belarus for the sake of European security and stability. The lack of unity in attitude towards Nazi Germany became a major bone of contention between states, and it was the major cause of World War II more than 60 years ago.
23 June 2008
Voice of Russia World Service
http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=28711&cid=56&p=23.06.2008 (in English)
