COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATESON THE 65TH ANNIVERSARY OF GREAT VICTORY

9th of May is a special day in calendars of many countries – on this day we all celebrate Great Victory of the forces of creation and civilization over the forces of destruction and barbarity, the Victory of life over death.

The upcoming Victory anniversary celebration bears a great symbolic significance for all nations who shed their blood fighting Nazism.

World War II was indeed an epochal event. It was not only a global battle that exceeded in scale all the previous armed conflicts in world history. Colliding in it were not only the different interests of states and even not so much the different ideologies, but the diametrically opposed, irreconcilable approaches to the very bases of mankind’s existence. For the first time in history, the stake in this struggle was the preservation of the life of whole nations.

The experience of the international brotherhood in arms during the war years is assuming particular significance in the conditions when a global challenge has again been thrown down to humanity, this time by international terrorism, which is no less dangerous and cunning than fascism. And no less merciless: thousands of innocent people have already become its victims. The foundations of civilization have again turned out to be in jeopardy.

To cope with this kind of threat, just as 65 years ago, is only possible on the basis of solidarity and mutual trust.

Our duty to those who paid with their blood for the sake of saving humanity from fascism consists primarily of putting a reliable barrier in the way of disseminating the ideas of intolerance and racial, national or religious superiority, behind which world dominance pretensions hide, serving as a ground for new threats.

Harmonious development of relations between various nationalities and confessions, tolerance and mutual respect, preservation of cultural diversity, an open and constructive dialogue of civilizations - these are the main conditions for victory over the forces of hatred and extremism.

The history of the Great Victory is an inexhaustible source of strength and confidence in the future for us.

Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Yerlan Baudarbek-Kozhataev
Ambassador of the Russian Federation, Andrey Rozhkov
Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Alisher Kurmanov
Charge d’Affaires a.i. of Ukraine, Vsevolod Mytsyk
Singapore, May 7th, 2010