MOSCOW, May 9 (UPI) -- Marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the reconciliation between Russia and Germany.
"I believe it to be one of the most valuable achievements in post-war Europe," Putin told crowds gathered at Red Square for the commemoration ceremony. "It is an example worth applying in modern global politics."
Among more than 50 heads of state attending was German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and U.S. President George Bush, the Novosti news agency reported.
"The lessons of the war warn us that promotion of violence, indifference and wait-and-see attitudes inevitably lead to terrible global disasters," Putin said. "That is why facing the current terrorist threat we must continue to honor the memories of our fathers. We must defend the world order based on security and justice, on a new culture of mutual relations, which does not allow repetition of either 'cold' or 'hot' wars."
Putin said Russia would always remember the assistance provided to the country by the United States, Great Britain, France and other Allied countries, and German and Italian resistance movements.
