Moscow Urges Warsaw to End Desecration of Soviet Monuments

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov on Tuesday drew the attention of Poland's Ambassador to Russia Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz to the need to stop the vandalism against Polish monuments dedicated to Soviet soldiers, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“The Russian side emphasized the need for a depoliticized approach to complex issues of common history and to put an end to cases of vandalism against monuments to the Red Army soldiers who were killed during the liberation of Poland from the Nazis, in accordance with the obligations of the Polish side on bilateral agreements," the statement said.

Relations between Moscow and Warsaw have been strained by repeated cases of the demolition and dismantling of Soviet monuments in the country as well as alleged attempts by some Polish officials to distort history and belittle the contribution Soviet soldiers made to the victory over Nazism in World War II.

On March 31, Poland's Institute of National Remembrance announced that the Polish authorities were planning to demolish about 500 monuments to the Red Army soldiers.