Israel: ‘We will never forget’ - Putin addresses Holocaust commemoration event

M/S Russian President Vladimir Putin arriving to ceremony, Jerusalem
W/S Putin and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin arriving, Putin shaking hands with French Presindent Emmanuel Macron, Britain's Prince Charles
W/S Putin approaching lectern
SOT, Vladimir Putin, Russian President (Russian): "The crimes committed by the Nazis, their deliberate, planned, as they said, 'final solution of the Jewish question', are one of the darkest and most shameful pages of modern world history. We will not forget that this crime had accomplices, and in cruelty they often exceeded their masters. The death factories and concentration camps were served not only by the Nazis, but also by their accomplices in many European countries. In the occupied territories of the Soviet Union, where these culprits were operating, the largest number of Jews were killed. In Ukraine about 1.4 million Jews died. Two hundred and twenty thousand people were killed in Lithuania. This is 95 percent of the pre-war Jewish population of this country. In Latvia, 77,000, and so on. Only a few hundred Latvian Jews survived the Holocaust."
C/U Ceremony's attendee
SOT, Vladimir Putin, Russian President (Russian): "Back then, in 1945, the Soviet people put an end to the barbaric plans. They, as has been said here, defended their fatherland and brought liberation from Nazism to Europe. We paid for this at a price that had never been imagined in the worst dreams of any nation. Twenty-seven million dead. We will never forget this. Holocaust remembrance will be a lesson and warning only if it is complete, without exemptions and omissions. Unfortunately, today the memory of the war and its lessons, heritage are increasingly becoming the object of political conjuncture. This is absolutely unacceptable. And the duty of modern and future politicians, statesmen and public figures is to protect the good name of the living and fallen heroes, civilians, victims of the Nazis and their accomplices."
W/S Attendees of event
SOT, Vladimir Putin, Russian President (Russian): "The oblivion of the past, disunity in the face of threats can turn into terrible consequences. We must have the courage not only to say this directly, but to do everything to protect and defend the world. An example, in my opinion, can and should be given by the founding countries of the UN, the five powers that have a special responsibility for the preservation of civilization."
W/S Putin leaving stage
SCRIPT
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the atrocities of the Nazis were some of the "darkest and most shameful pages of modern world history," addressing the 5th World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem on Thursday.
The Russian leader also paid tribute to the Soviet sacrifice to stop the Nazis.
"They defended their fatherland and brought liberation from Nazism to Europe. We paid for this at a price that had never been imagined in the worst dreams of any nation. Twenty-seven million dead. We will never forget this."
He went on to call for the leading nations in the world to defend and preserve civilization.
"We must have the courage not only to say this directly, but to do everything to protect and defend the world. An example, in my opinion, can and should be given by the founding countries of the UN, the five powers that have a special responsibility for the preservation of civilization," said Putin.
Several world leaders and dignitaries including French President Emmanuel Macron and UK’s Prince Charles are attending the 5th World Holocaust Forum entitled ‘Remember the Holocaust, fighting antisemitism’ at the Warsaw Ghetto Square in Yad Vashem.
The ceremony marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.