By IANS,
Moscow: Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao Saturday met the representatives of the Russian war veterans who helped China battle Japanese troops in the World Anti-Fascist War.
The Chinese president arrived in Moscow Saturday to attend ceremonies marking the 65th anniversary of Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War over Nazi Germany, Xinhua reported.
Hours after arriving, the Chinese president met a group of Russian war veterans and expressed gratitude to them for their assistance in fighting the Japanese invaders in northeast China in August 1945.
On Sunday, Hu will join other state leaders for the parade on Moscow’s Red Square and wreath-laying ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The Great Patriotic War, an important part of the World Anti-Fascist War, refers to the battles fought by the Soviet Union from June 1941 to May 1945 against Nazi Germany and its allies on the Eastern Front of Europe.
Hu, during his meeting with the Russian WWII veterans, said that the Chinese people would never forget the contributions made by the Soviet Red Army to the success of China’s Anti-Japanese War.
“We cannot forget that, during the cruel war, many Red Army soldiers came to northeastern China, making an important contribution to the victory of China’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression,” Hu said.
Many Russian soldiers and citizens sacrificed their lives for the liberation of the Chinese people, he said.
Fighting together in the anti-fascist war, the China and Russia forged a profound friendship, he added.
“The friendship cemented with blood and people’s lives lays a solid foundation for the China-Russia strategic relations of cooperation and partnership,” Hu said.
Hu will stay in Russia till Sunday.