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President Vladimir Putin: Dear friends,

I would like to congratulate you all on the approaching anniversary of victory. I would like to thank you and also thank our veterans for your part in the struggle against fascism. We in Russia remember the sacrifices that you made and the sacrifices made by the Soviet Union. Around 7,000 of our soldiers are buried in this soil.

I would also like to thank you and the entire Slovak people for remembering our soldiers who lost their lives liberating Slovakia. A lot could be said about the significance of the military operations in Slovakia and about how it was from here that the road was opened to the last stronghold of the Nazis. We can remember the great importance of the Slovak uprising and the courage of those who fought against the fascists then, here in Slovakia. But what made the greatest impression on me was what our veterans said in the car when we on the way here. One of them said, “When we arrived in Slovakia it was as if we had returned home”. That was how our soldiers felt because they received such a warm welcome here.

This was a small discovery I made today, a new page that I learned about while talking with our veterans today, a page from the history of World War II.

I congratulate you on the approaching Victory Day holiday and on April 4, the Day of the Liberation of Bratislava.

President of Slovakia Ivan Gasparovich: Mr President,

I would like once more to thank you for finding the time to meet with our veterans. Today is so full of events that we sometimes forget about their immense achievements and about the fact that if it were not for them we would probably not be living in a free country. Once more, my greatest thanks to you for meeting with them. We should always pay tribute to what they did for our motherland and for everyone.

Vladimir Putin: We do not forget and we will not forget.