This week of course marks the 70th anniversary of Victory Day or, as it is referred to in the United States, VE (Victory in Europe) Day, informs «Pacific Russia».

This solemn commemoration is an opportunity for us to recognize the sacrifice of all who fought to end a terrible war. From its ashes collectively was forged an international community anchored in institutions that brought Europe an unprecedented era of peace, prosperity, and stability. The anniversary allows the United States to reaffirm the importance of the transatlantic alliance and America’s commitment to Euro-Atlantic institutions and securing peace in Europe and beyond.

Seventy years after the end of the Second World War, we can also reassure our partners and allies that the United States values its historic ties to both Europe and Asia and continues to build and strengthen those relationships. This is something that I personally find particularly meaningful here in Vladivostok, deservingly designated a “city of military glory” by the Russian Federation government, but also a city that is historically and geographically linked both to Europe and Asia.

This commemoration, therefore, is a time to recall Allied cooperation during WWII and its key role in helping to bring peace back to Europe and Asia. In doing so, we must recognize the indispensable role of Russia and all successor states of the Soviet Union in securing victory in Europe, and at the same time try to contemplate the almost unbearable cost of that role.

On May 9, I will attend ceremonies in Vladivostok devoted to the Soviet Union’s victory in the Great Patriotic War. On that day, we will remember all Allied lives lost in World War II and recall the full range of Allied contributions, from resistance movements to American Lend-Lease assistance to the support and sacrifices of citizens from all the nations that made up the Soviet Union.

Recently, Ambassador John F. Tefft offered the following remarks honoring our partnership in that terrible war and the sacrifices of the Russian people:

“Even though the political and economic systems of the United States and the Soviet Union were worlds apart during the Second World War, we were still able to cooperate in those years to achieve a greater good – the defeat of Nazi Germany. And, even though our relations later chilled during the Cold War, Moscow and Washington were able to avoid a direct conflict during a half-century of geopolitical tension.

Both my father and my father-in-law fought on the European front. My dad served in the Army Air Forces in North Africa and Italy. My wife’s father served in France in the wake of the Allied “D-Day” invasion of Normandy. They were part of what we call “the Greatest Generation,” and their experiences in the war changed their lives – and the lives of their families – forever.

My wife Mariella and I honor the memory of our fathers and their bravery in the war. And, having served as Ambassador in Russia and in three former Soviet states, I am acutely aware of – and I have deep respect for – the tremendous sacrifices made by the Russian people and by others in the region during the Great Patriotic War”.

This year’s “Bezsmertniy Polk” (“Immortal Regiment”) will be the largest ever, because, with each passing year, though fewer veterans remain, they are replaced by family members proudly carrying their photograph. It is a powerful, emotional experience, as grandchildren and great grandchildren march in honor of their brave, departed loved ones. On the 70th anniversary of the end of history’s most destructive war, and in honor of all those who fell, let us remember that the Allied victory in Europe was a victory for the ideals of freedom and human dignity, ideals which each generation must cherish and defend.

S praznikom.