Press releases

MOSCOW, 4 May (BelTA) – A wreath on behalf of the Belarusian Embassy was placed at the Tomb to the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin Wall in Moscow on 4 May, BelTA has learned.

The ceremony marked the 72nd anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Attending the event was Belarus’ Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Russia Igor Petrishenko, Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee – CIS Executive Secretary Sergei Lebedev, CSTO Secretary General Yuri Khachaturov, Member of the Board (Minister) for Industry and Agribusiness of the Eurasian Economic Commission Sergei Sidorsky, Executive Secretary of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Belarus-Russia Union State Sergei Strelchenko, First Deputy Head of the United Russia faction in the State Duma Raisa Karmazina, First Deputy Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee of the Federation Council Frants Klintsevich, veterans of the Great Patriotic War, representatives of the Belarusian Diaspora, integration bodies and diplomats.

Flowers were also laid at the memorial plates Minsk Hero City and Brest Hero Fortress in the Alley of Hero Cities in the Alexander Garden. The solemn ceremony ended with the performance by the guards of honor and a military orchestra.

Victory Day is a sacred holiday for the Belarusians and Russians, Ambassador Igor Petrishenko told reporters after the ceremony. He noted that this is a traditional ceremony to pay tribute to those who liberated the peoples of Europe. “This is important not only for the veterans but also for the younger generations,” the diplomat said.

The Ambassador recalled that this year will mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Belarus and Russia. According to him, for a quarter of a century the two countries have achieved a lot in various areas, but the main thing is that the two countries have preserved the unity in the approaches to the history of the Great Patriotic War. “We speak with one voice in all international organizations against the revisionist attempts to diminish the feat of the Soviet soldiers during the Second World War,” Ambassador Igor Petrishenko stressed.