Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, on Tuesday took part in the opening ceremony of the memorial to the Soviet soldiers who fought in the fierce battles in World War II near the northwestern Russian city of Rzhev
RZHEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th June, 2020) Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, on Tuesday took part in the opening ceremony of the memorial to the Soviet soldiers who fought in the fierce battles in World War II near the northwestern Russian city of Rzhev.
The two leaders exchanged hugs during the meeting and greeted the veterans who attended the ceremony.
Putin and Lukashenko laid garlands of flowers in front of the monument and had a brief conversation on the way to the memorial.
"The Rzhev memorial is another symbol of our common memory, a symbol of admiration for the great and selfless deed of the soldier-hero, the soldier-liberator, the victorious soldier, the soldier who saved Europe and the whole world from Nazism. Time has no power over this feat and it should never be forgotten ... and it cannot be smeared with lies and falsifications. We will not allow this," Putin said at the ceremony.
Lukashenko, on his part, expressed the belief that peace can be preserved as long as people cherish the memory of liberators by erecting such monuments.
The 25-meter-tall (82-foot-tall) bronze sculpture in the Tver Region was constructed at the initiative of veterans with money raised through public donations. The project was carried out by the Russian Military History Society with the support of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, the Russian Ministry of Culture and the regional government.
