Russia Prepares for Sunny, Safe VE Day Celebrations, Summits
Los Angeles Times (subscription), CA - 20 hours ago
MOSCOW — As leaders of more than 50 countries prepare to gather here for a three-day round of summits and celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the ...
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Bush: Soviet occupation one of 'greatest wrongs'
CTV.ca News Staff
U.S. President George Bush kicked off a politically sensitive European tour in Latvia on Saturday by praising the young democracies of three Baltic states.
Bush called the Soviet domination of central and eastern Europe after the Second World War "one of the greatest wrongs of history" during a trip to mark 60 years since the fall of Nazi Germany.
The American president acknowledged the United States played a role in the continent's division after the war.
He said the agreement in 1945 among Soviet leader Josef Stalin, U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt and British prime minister Winston Churchill "followed in the unjust tradition of Munich and the Molotov-Ribbontrop pact.
"Once again, when powerful governments negotiated, the freedom of small nations was somehow expendable," he said in the Latvian capital of Riga.
"Yet this attempt to sacrifice freedom for the sake of stability left a continent divided and unstable."
Bush's trip underscored lasting resentment among the Baltic nations at the Soviet Union's annexation of their states.
"Look, I fully understand there is a lot of anger and frustration involved in the three Baltic countries about the occupation," Bush said of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
"I've expressed that to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, but he didn't need me to tell him. He fully understands there's a lot of frustrations and anger about what took place. My hope is that we will be able to move on past that phase of history, the phase that is embracing democracy and free societies."
The Baltic states have been pressing Moscow for a new apology over their loss of independence when annexed by the Soviet Union.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has dismissed such calls, saying there is no need for an apology and that there was already one after the Soviet Union broke up.
Bush's decision to start his trip in the Baltics and end it in Georgia prompted a letter of protest from Moscow, which viewed it as meddling in Russia's backyard.
Earlier Saturday, Putin unveiled a giant memorial in Moscow to commemorate the Russian victory in the Second World War.
Putin said the Russian troops had liberated, not oppressed Eastern Europe.
"Our people not only defended their homeland, they liberated 11 European countries," the Russian leader said.
Meanwhile in Russia, more than 30,000 police and soldiers have been deployed amid fears of terrorist attacks by Chechen separatists as the nation prepares for V-E Day celebrations.
French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder are among the leaders who will take part in the commemorative events.
With files from The Associated Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1115468264445_29/?hub=CTVNewsAt11
