17.02.2020.
Ministers Vulin and Shoygu Laid Wreaths at the Cemetery of Liberators of Belgrade
Today, ministers of defence of Serbia and Russian Federation Aleksandar Vulin and Sergey Shoygu, laid wreaths with state and military honours at the Memorial to the Liberators of Belgrade and Monument of Red Army Soldier, and a capsule into the memorial plaque “Eternal Fire”.
Following the wreath laying ceremony Minister Vulin wrote in the memorial book:
“When the world chose between a good and evil, the Serbs and Russians never made a wrong choice and they have never been on opposite sides. There are peoples in Europe who owe their existence and freedom to immeasurable sacrifices of the Red Army, and there are peoples today who scornfully look at vast graves of the Red Army, and there are peoples who are rewriting history to hide their weakness and reconciliation with evil. There are such peoples in Europe, but the Serbs are not among them.We owe our freedom and existence to the struggle of our ancestors, and we are eternally grateful for immeasurable sacrifices of the Red Army, and we proudly cherish the memory of heroic struggle of the Serbian people and glorious and invincible Red Army; we have no masters, we are proud of our history and, as a free nation, we choose the brotherhood with the Russian people.
May memory live of the heroes of the Yugoslav People’s Liberation Army, may immortal memory live of the heroes of the Red Army.
Forever free.”
Minister Shoygu wrote in the memorial book:
“May eternal memory live of the heroes who liberated Belgrade from fascist occupiers!
We are greatly thankful to the Serbian people for their endeavour to preserve historical memories of the feat of Soviet soldiers.Our immediate obligation is to preserve the truth of those times and pass it to our descendants.”
After the wreath laying ceremony, ministers Vulin and Shoygu laid together a capsule in the memorial plaque “Eternal Fire”.
The capsule, laid in the foundation of future Monument “Eternal Fire”, which symbolises centuries long brotherhood and joint victory of Serbian and Russian peoples over fascism, was formed on 15th February, Day of Statehood of Serbia, at Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery in Russia, to be brought to Belgrade for today’s occasion.
Author of the project for the Monument “Eternal Fire” is Russian academician Andrey Tirtishnikov.
