Reception in honour of the heads of state invited to attend Victory Day celebrations

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, friends,

Today, on Victory Day, it is with a special feeling of warmth that we welcome in Russia and here in Moscow our reliable partners and friends.

This is a sacred day which is marked across the Commonwealth of Independent States, as well as in many countries of Europe and around the world, anywhere where people realise that justice, equality and humanism are perennial values, where people remember and honour heroism and the feats accomplished by the warriors who brought freedom and created a future for people and nations across the world.

Time has no power over the greatness of the colossal victory of 1945. Despite all attempts to rewrite history, the lessons that the world community learnt in the crucible of the Second World War remain unassailable.

The Nazis and the Japanese militarists drew almost 80 percent of the world's population into this war by unleashing their aggression in Europe and North Africa, in the Asia-Pacific Region, killing millions of innocent people. Those who stopped and defeated this evil will be covered in fame, eternal and unfading, for the feats they accomplished.

We remember the Allied contribution to fighting Nazism, those who took part in the lend-lease convoys, including Cuba, by the way. We are delighted to have the President of this country, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, with us on a day which matters so much to all of us.

In the person of President of the Lao People's Democratic Republic Thongloun Sisoulith we offer our greetings to nations where resistance movement fighters were proactive during World War II alongside members of national liberation movements. The struggle they led at the time paved the way to the emergence of independent and sovereign states in Asia which now play an increasingly important role in the global economy and world affairs.

The Nazis directed most of their military might against the Soviet Union, but the enemy had to face a vigorous and firm pushback there. The entire Soviet nation rose to defend the Fatherland in an unprecedented demonstration of unity and mass heroism.

Victory Day is sacred for the heads of state from the Commonwealth of Independent States. There are veterans of war and those who worked on the home front in every single family in our countries. We took a bus together on our way here, where we discussed this, and tried to understand how many veterans are still with us. Remembering those who have passed away is an integral and essential element of our shared past and the triumphs we achieved together on the battlefield, as well as on the home front.

Having defeated Nazism and asserted its independence, our country made a sincere effort to support other nations aspiring to self-determination by helping people in Africa and Asia both in word and deed during their anti-colonial struggles without backing out once they achieved their state independence.

I believe that President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who is here today, will agree that this consistency on behalf of the Soviet Union and then Russia has borne fruit. Africa is building up capacity and aspires to emerging as an effective powerhouse in a multipolar world with its unique identity by making confident strides in nurturing a genuine sense of political and economic sovereignty.

Let me emphasise that Russia reaffirms its commitment to promoting mutually beneficial partnerships and friendship with everyone who shares the values of freedom and justice and calls for strictly abiding by the international norms, as well as for an inclusive, equal and indivisible security architecture.

This is the debt we owe to all those who endured the horrific test of the Second World War. The memory of the comradery in arms of our forefathers, as well as the openness, mutual understanding and friendship among people representing a broad spectrum of ethnic groups, cultures and traditions will serve as a reliable foundation for moving forward and working together in the name of the future.

Friends, I would like to raise a toast for the generation of victors! For the Great Victory! For peace and wellbeing! For our good friends!

Thank you for being with us.

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