MAY 8, 9 TO BE DECLARED REMEMBRANCE DAYS FOR WWII VICTIMS

NEW YORK, November 20 (RIA Novosti) - A draft resolution that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov submitted to the UN General Assembly Friday, on behalf of the CIS, Cambodia and Yemen, declares May 8 and 9 Remembrance and Reconciliation Days. Mr. Fedotov reminded the gathering that next year will mark the 60th anniversary of the Allies' victory over the Nazi Germany in the Second World War and that this victory paved the way for the establishment of the United Nations, an organization intended to save future generations from the horrors of war.

Mr. Fedotov proposed that the UN GA should hold a special session on V-E Day to mark the anniversary and remember the WWII victims. And he called on the global community to rally behind the United Nations in the fight against new threats and challenges and to try to settle all conflicts through diplomacy, in line with the UN Charter.

Today it is important to remember lessons of World War II, to revere the memory of its victims, and to prevent a third world war from breaking out, Mr. Fedotov emphasized.

The UN General Assembly will take a vote on the draft resolution Monday, November 22.

It will be remembered that the Nazi Germany signed the unconditional surrender act on May 8, 1945, at 10:30 p.m., Berlin time. But in Moscow, it was already past midnight then, which is why the Russians traditionally celebrate V-E Day on May 9.