Friday, January 12 2018 13:31

ArmInfo. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic responded to the joint letter of the ambassadors of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia in this country to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Martin Stropnitski about the situation around the monument to Marshal of the Soviet Union IS Konev in Prague. Stropnitsky in his response open letter, published on the website of the Czech Foreign Ministry, described it as "an inappropriate gesture." "In your joint letter of December 22, 2017, you express deep concern about the decision of Prague-6 to establish biographical tablets on the monument to Marshal Konev.You consider this step as an attempt to belittle the importance of the monument, rewrite history and disgrace the fallen in the fight against Nazism You also argue that the issue of the monument is used for political purposes and can not be left to the discretion of the local authorities.I think this is a misunderstanding, and the letter you published is an inappropriate step, "the reply letter of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. At the same time, Stropnitsky stressed that the municipal authorities in the Czech Republic are a legally separate body elected by citizens with their own property and budget and is one of the pillars of democracy in the country. He stressed that, based on the foregoing, the country's foreign ministry can not interfere with the decision of the Prague self-government body, since the monument to Konev belongs to the city municipality. The Minister also stressed that the Czech Republic respects all fighters against the Nazi regime, as well as the victims of the latter, including the soldiers of the Red Army of all nationalities. He also recalled that the monument to Konev is not a military grave and, therefore, is not subject to the Agreement between the Government of the Czech Republic and the Government of the Russian Federation on mutual care of military townspeople and their democratically elected representatives to decide on their own how the monument and its pedestal will look> , the statement says.