Terrorism is a shared threat faced by the international community, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar while speaking on the occasion of the 80th victory day at the Russian Embassy in New Delhi.
“In the years that have passed much has changed as decolonisation has gathered pace. The membership of the UN has quadrupled. There has been a significant rebalancing of the global economy. The world has begun to return to pluralism,” said Jaishankar.
“Excellencies, we meet at a time when India is confronting the challenge of terrorism – one that is a shared threat to the international community. I thank those who have expressed solidarity,” he said, adding that international cooperation is more important than ever today.
Russian Ambassador to India, Denis Alipov, also spoke at the event. “Today is the occasion to salute the courage and endurance of all those who fought for victory. Soldiers, doctors, nurses and farmers…all those people who stood against evil. Our rejoicing is subdued by the price that was paid to rid the world of Hitler,” he said.
“We echo the words of India’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru. The Soviet Union has borne the brunt of the Nazi onslaught and its victories have changed the course of the world. Nearly 27 million lives were lost by Soviet nations…our sacrifice was immense,” he added.
“Even after 80 years, the shadow of the war lingers in the collective memories of nations…today, we pay tribute to the Red Army, which freed the prisoners of Auschwitz and Nazi death camps,” he added.
“Over 2.5 million Indian soldiers served across multiple fronts. Indian troops were instrumental in the war,” said the Ambassador requesting the audience to stand in silence for a minute to pay respects to all those who “sacrificed themselves” to defeat the Nazis and to “secure the lives of future generations”.
