Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a working visit to Israel, where he attended the Fifth World Holocaust Remembrance Forum, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz by Soviet troops. The Russian leader was accompanied by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov.

At the airport, Putin was met by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who expressed gratitude for the role of the Red Army in the victory over the Nazis. Before the commemorative events began, the head of state met with President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Not a single document can convey what people endured”

During the meeting with Rivlin, Putin thanked the Israeli president for the opportunity to visit Jerusalem, and also stated the need to combat any manifestations of xenophobia and anti-Semitism.

“You just said that it is not known where anti-Semitism ends. Unfortunately, we know this - it ends with Auschwitz. Therefore, you need to be very careful not to miss anything like this in the future and resist any manifestations of xenophobia, anti-Semitism, wherever it comes from and from whoever it comes from, ”RIA Novosti quoted Putin as saying.

The Russian leader also took part in the opening ceremony of the bronze stele “Candle of Remembrance” in Jerusalem, dedicated to the heroic deed of the inhabitants of besieged Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War. In 2019, a capsule with the ground of the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery was laid at the base of the monument.

Addressing those present at the ceremony, Putin noted that the facts about the blockade, reflected in the documents, are horrifying, however, "not a single document, not a single story or diary, nor newsreel can convey what people really endured." The Russian leader said that for him the tragedy of those years is not an empty phrase, and he knows about what happened according to the stories of his parents.

“The father defended his hometown at the front, and my mother was in the besieged city with a child who died in the winter of 1942 and was buried at the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery in St. Petersburg. Among the thousands, hundreds of thousands of other citizens, ”he said.

Putin added that recently, picking up documents, he discovered a fact that shocked him - during the years of the blockade, “Leningraders, in this position, donated 144 tons of blood for the needs of the front”, and also, deprived of food, light, heat, they continued to work in hospitals, engaged in science and art, and were able to save the city.

The President of Russia also recalled that in Israel, as in Russia, they were alarmed and indignant at attempts to deny the Holocaust and revise the results of World War II.

“One of the blackest and shameful pages of world history”

Later, the Russian leader spoke at the forum “Keeping the memory of the Holocaust, fighting anti-Semitism”, which was held at the Yad Vashem memorial center for the victims of the Holocaust. Putin recalled that in the concentration camps "hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people of different nationalities died, more than half of them were Jews." He also called the Holocaust a common tragedy of Russia and Israel, recalling that 40% of the tortured Jews were from the Soviet Union. The head of state noted that the German Nazis had accomplices in many European countries, which often turned out to be more cruel than their "masters".

  • Suitcases of the dead at the Auschwitz concentration camp
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The President of Russia added that the responsibility of all countries of the world is to ensure that the tragedies of World War II do not recur.

“One must be vigilant and not miss, not overlook, when the first shoots of hatred, chauvinism, anti-Semitism appear, when xenophobia and other manifestations of this kind begin to indulge. Oblivion of the past, disunity in the face of threats can result in dire consequences. We must have the courage not only to say it directly, but to do everything to protect and defend the world, ”said Vladimir Putin.

He added that an example should be set at the UN and suggested holding a meeting on this issue of heads of state of the permanent members of the Security Council of the organization - Russia, China, the USA, France and Great Britain.

Initially, the visit of the Russian leader to Israel was supposed to be two days, but because of the situation with the renewal of the Russian government, it was decided to reduce it to one day. The forum was attended by presidents, monarchs, prime ministers from more than 40 countries. In addition to the Russian leader, statements on the unacceptability of anti-Semitism and xenophobia were made, in particular, by British Prince Charles, French President Emmanuel Macron, and US Vice President Mike Pence.