Bilateral Camaraderie: Syrians Celebrate Russian Victory Day in Homs (VIDEO)

Russian Officer Sergei Drogin addressed the crowd, reiterating the idea behind the Victory Day in Russia.

"For us who live now the most important is not to forget our fallen heroes," Drogin said. "I believe in our victory over international terrorism. I believe that soon Syria will become again the blooming and peaceful country."

The celebration was one of the hundreds of commemorative events around Russia and the rest of the world celebrating the anniversary of the official capitulation of Nazi Germany at the end of World War II.

A parade commemorating the victory in the Great Patriotic War was held at the Hmeymim airbase in Syria's Latakia province for the first time last year. On May 9 this year, Russian servicemen held the parade again, carrying on the tradition. During the parade, Syrian President Assad's welcoming address was read by Chief of the Syrian Army General Staff Lt. Gen. Ali Abdullah Ayyoub.

Assad compared the Russian servicemen, who are fighting against terrorism in Syria, with the heroes of World War II as they successfully succeed their ancestors in accomplishing military feats. The President also thanked the Russian nation and country's President Vladimir Putin for the contribution to the fight against terrorism in Syria.

On May 9, Russia celebrates the victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War and the end of WWII in Europe. Russia's celebrations on May 9 start with military parades across the country with the most famous taking place on the Red Square in Moscow and concludes with fireworks in the evening.

The Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) was a crucial part of World War II (1939-1945). It began on June 22, 1941, when Germany attacked the Soviet Union. Germany signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender in a suburb of Berlin in the late evening of May 8, 1945 (already May 9 according to Moscow time).