MINSK, 16 May (BelTA) – Belarus and Serbia hold sacred the memory of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Serbia Vladimir Chushev said during a commemorative ceremony held in Belgrade on 15 May on the initiative of the Belarusian diplomatic mission, BelTA has learned.
The Serbian capital hosted a ceremony to take soil from the Liberators of Belgrade memorial, from the grave of Belarusians who died liberating the city from the Nazi invaders in October 1944. The soil will be kept in Minsk in the crypt of the All Saints Memorial Church built in memory of those who contributed to the salvation of the country.
Vladimir Chushev noted that the crypt keeps soil from the fields of all major historic battles to defend Belarusian lands and from the graves of civilians killed in military activities. It has soil from Austria, Hungary, Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and other countries that have graves of Belarusian soldiers.
“We are glad that Serbia, as our friend and a key partner in the Balkans, keeps the memory of the Soviet liberators who demonstrated unparalleled courage, resilience and heroism. Today we know for sure that our fellow Belarusians were among whose who died liberating Yugoslavia in the Great Patriotic War,” the diplomat said.
Vladimir Chushev thanked Serbian President-elect Aleksandar Vucic, Minister of Defense Zoran Dordevic, Minister of Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy Aleksandar Vulin, and Belgrade Mayor Sinisa Mali for the assistance with the organization of the commemorative event, and also all those who attended the ceremony.
“We hold the event to ensure that the memory of the Great Patriotic War lives on in every city, town and village, is passed on from generation to generation, from heart to heart connecting all of us with a vibrant thread of love for our home country. We also do this to ensure that millions of people keep the memory of the heroes as an everlasting evidence of the courage of our peoples who defeated fascism, the greatest evil in the world,” Vladimir Chushev stressed.
A cut-glass capsule with soil from Belgrade was solemnly handed over by Vladimir Chushev to a representative of the Serbian Ministry of Defense who will bring it to Minsk during the upcoming visit of the Serbian defense minister to Belarus. The commemorative ceremony was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Defense, the Serbian Armed Forces, the Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy, Belgrade City Hall, the Embassies of Belarus and Russia, the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belgrade, veteran organizations, the association of friendship between Serbia and Belarus, and members of the media.
