Russian Foreign Ministry resents plans to dismantle monument to Gen. Chernyakhovsky in Poland
MOSCOW. Feb 6 (Interfax) - Moscow resents the decision made by the authorities of the Polish town of Pieniezno of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (Province) to dismantle the monument to Soviet General Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said.
"Moscow resents the resolution made by the city council of this town on January 30," Lukashevich said at a briefing in Moscow on Thursday.
The Russian-Polish intergovernmental agreement on burials and memorial sites of war and repression victims of 1994 applies to the monument, installed in the 1970s at the site where the Soviet commander was fatally wounded, Lukashevich said.
"This document stipulates the obligations of the parties to maintain and support the commemoration sites and other memorial sites in Russia and Poland in a proper manner and does not allow unilateral actions in this sector," Lukashevich said.
"Our embassy in Poland and general consulate in Gdansk are in close contact with the authorities of the [Warmian-Masurian Province] and relevant Polish bodies responsible for military and memorial work," the spokesman said.
"We will pursue the resolution of the situation in accordance with acting legal standards and count on constructive cooperation with our Polish colleagues assuming the common understanding of the need to respect and preserve the memory of those killed fighting fascism," Lukashevich said.