Peres: “I give thanks to the Russian people for their victory over Nazi Germany.”
By BEN HARTMANShimon Peres Berlin(photo credit: AP)
President Shimon Peres left on Saturday night for a state visit to Russia and the Victory Day parades commemorating the 65th anniversary of the defeat of Germany.“I come today to Red Square as president of Israel and as a representative of the Jewish people to salute the Red Army and give thanks to the Russian people for their victory over Nazi Germany,” Peres said.“In Israel and across the world there are many Holocaust survivors who are alive today largely thanks to the Red Army,” he said.Sunday’s Victory Day celebrations in Moscow and across Russia are beingtouted as the largest ever. For the first time, foreign military unitswill take part in the Moscow parade, including soldiers from the UnitedStates, the United Kingdom, France, Poland and a number of formerSoviet republics.Victory Day is one of the most cherished holidays in Russia, and marksthe country’s triumph in what they call The Great Patriotic War.During his three-day visit to Russia, Peres will address leaders of theEuro-Asian Jewish Congress and will receive an honorary doctorate fromthe MGIMO – Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Russia’smost prestigious institution for the study of political science.
