Oslo, April 26 (Interfax) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned against attempts to re-write the history of World War II.
"It is very important for the truth about the war to remain in the future so that there are no attempts to re-write the history in favor of any particular politician. Otherwise, all of us – Europe and the entire world – will have another chance of getting into a very large conflict," Medvedev said at a ceremony of decorating WWII veterans with anniversary medals at the Armed Forces Museum in Norway.
It is very important for all of us and future generations alike to preserve the truth about the war, the Russian president said.
"During that period, when we together fought against fascism, when Northern Norway was liberated, when our soldiers and Norwegian guerilla forces were helping the whole of Europe free itself from Nazi occupation, everything was simple: there was a common enemy who had to be defeated," Medvedev said.
Thanks to what was done, today we can celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Great Victory, he said.
Many Soviet people – prisoners of war (POWs) and those who fought against fascism – found rest in the Norwegian land, the president said. "The memory about those times for everyone who lives in Russia is sacred," he said.
Medvedev thanked the Norwegian authorities and those who look after the graves of Russian soldiers and POWs. "For us this is very precious and it is a symbol of friendship," he said.
At the Armed Forces Museum, the president visited the exhibition at the Falstad Memorial dedicated to Soviet POWs. It was this center that proposed a project for identification of the remains of the Soviet POWs buried in Norway.
Between 1941 and 1945, around 100,000 Soviet POWs were sent to Norway. 13,000 of them died in 500 concentration camps built by the Nazi in that country.
The ceremony is also being attended by King of Norway Harald V and Queen Sonja, as well as the Russian President’s wife Svetlana Medvedeva.
