Russian leader congratulates Azerbaijani counterpart on 79th anniversary of Victory

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent congratulatory messages to the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, as well as the people of Georgia and Moldova on the occasion of the 79th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War.

Ukraine is not mentioned in the text for the second year in a row. President Putin congratulated the Ukrainian people in 2022 and earlier, Caliber.Az reports citing the Kremlin.

In his congratulations, the Russian leader emphasised that Russia pays tribute to all those who, during the harsh war years, courageously fought at the front and in the rear, bringing the long-awaited victory closer.

“Today it is our moral duty to carefully preserve and pass on to younger generations the information about the events of those harsh years. We must together resolutely resist any attempts to distort and falsify history, revise the results of the Great Patriotic War, and justify the monstrous atrocities committed by the Nazis and their henchmen,” the Russian leader said.

President Putin expressed confidence that the traditions of fraternal friendship and mutual assistance during the harsh war years, were and remain an unshakable basis for the establishment and development of constructive, good-neighbourly relations among post-Soviet countries and peoples.

The Russian leader expressed sincere gratitude to all veterans of the Great Patriotic War, wishing them health, prosperity, good spirits and longevity.

President Putin also called for fighting against attempts to distort or forget about the common history of the countries of the former USSR, which crushed Nazism.

“It is important to stop any attempts to distort or forget about our common history, carefully preserve and pass on to the next generations the glorious traditions of friendship and mutual assistance that helped our fathers and grandfathers with honour withstand difficult military trials and crush Nazism,” the Russian leader added.