TEL AVIV, May 3. (RIA Novosti, Ratmir Orestov) - The victory over Nazism would have been impossible but for the Soviet Union, said Shimon Peres, Israeli First Deputy Prime Minister.
The 60th anniversary of World War II is one of the greatest events of our time, he emphasized.
"The Soviet Union played a leading part in defeating Nazi Germany. The victory took lives of many Soviet people, including Jews," he said, adding that he had no doubts that without the Soviet Union and its Red Army it would have been impossible to win the war. "We should hurrah Soviet people and their soldiers for this outstanding contribution," Mr. Peres said.
Over 500,000 Jews fought in the Soviet army during the war he recalled. 198,000 out of them were killed in action, and 143 were awarded the supreme title of the Hero of the Soviet Union.
