Russia's Role In Defeating Nazis In WWII Should Not Be Downplayed - Top Maltese Diplomat

Russia's contribution to the victory over Nazism during the Second World War should not be downplayed, Maltese Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo said on Tuesday following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Sochi

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th May, 2021) Russia's contribution to the victory over Nazism during the Second World War should not be downplayed, Maltese Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo said on Tuesday following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Sochi.

The Maltese official is currently in Russia for a working visit. Earlier in the day, the diplomat traveled to St. Petersburg, where he paid tribute to the memory of the city's residents who died during the siege from 1941 to 1944.

"It does not make sense at all, apart from fact that this is dishonest, to cancel the important role that Russia played in the victory over Nazism," Bartolo said at a joint press conference, noting that one cannot falsify what happened during the war and the tragic lessons that should be learned from the war.

In light of renewed efforts in the past months to blame the Soviet Union for the war, Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced earlier in May attempts to "steal" the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in the war, noting that they would not succeed because no one would forget whose flag waved over the Reichstag.