??? Russia, China committed to defending truth of WWII -- interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin

????Russian President Vladimir Putin said before his China visit that it was extremely important that China and Russia be united in preserving historical truth and defending their common victory, and that the joint celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II were a clear demonstration of this commitment.

????Ahead of his visit to China to attend celebrations of the 70th anniversary of China’s victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the end of World War II, Putin gave an interview to TASS and Xinhua News Agency. He said the victory anniversary had a special significance for Russia and China: the Soviet Union achieved victory through enormous sacrifice, while the Chinese people also bore great losses. The two countries would never forget the heroism, courage and spiritual strength of the generation of victors, and would forever remember the fallen and honor the veterans.

????“Our two countries were allies in the fight against Nazism and Japanese militarism and bore the brunt of the aggression, and they not only withstood this battle, but won it, liberating enslaved peoples and bringing peace to the planet,” Putin said. The mutual support between the two peoples in the years of trial and their common historical memory served as a strong foundation for current bilateral relations.

????Putin said that today, both in Europe and in Asia, there were attempts to falsify the history of World War II and to promote distorted interpretations of the events of the pre-war and post-war periods. He said certain countries’ efforts to glorify and exonerate war criminals and their henchmen were an outrageous flouting of the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials and an outright insult to the memory of millions who fell in the war. He said such historical speculations had obvious intentions: they were used in shady geopolitical games to sow feuds between countries and peoples.

????Putin stressed that Russia and China maintained similar views on the causes, history and results of World War II and regarded the wartime memory and lessons as sacrosanct. “This tragic past is an appeal to our common responsibility for the fate of the world, to the realization of the terrible consequences a destructive ideology of personal exclusiveness and all-permissiveness could lead to. These are the ideas that Nazism and militarism thrived on. It is our duty to prevent their revival and spread.”

????Russian-Chinese ties were probably at an historic peak and would continue developing, he said. The partnership between Russia and China was based on sincere friendship and sympathy between their peoples, on deep respect and trust, consideration for each other’s key interests and commitment to make their countries flourish. The cooperation took on a new meaning in terms of maintaining and strengthening global and regional stability and security and finding effective responses to global challenges.

????He said expansion of the Russia-Chinese partnership supported the interests and strategic goals of the two countries. This guided the two countries to adopt the joint declaration on cooperation in coordinating development of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Silk Road Economic Belt in May, marking the beginning of coordination of long-term development priorities to boost economic activity on the vast expanse of Eurasia.

????He said China was Russia’s key economic partner. In recent years, the two had managed to make significant progress in all areas of economic and production cooperation, with energy being the key area of cooperation. Russia and China were moving towards the creation of a strategic energy alliance, which he believed would play a significant role in international economic relations. In May last year, Russia signed a contract to supply China with 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year, to be shipped via the “eastern” route for 30 years. Construction had begun on the Power of Siberia gas pipeline to implement the project. In May, the two countries reached initial agreement on the “western” route, with anticipated exports of 30 billion cubic meters a year. Progress had also been made in other areas of energy cooperation, including oil, nuclear energy and coal, leading Putin to hail the “great potential” for Russia-China energy cooperation.

????Putin believed high-speed rail was one of the most promising areas of Russia-China cooperation. The two countries had agreed on the parameters of joint funding of over 1 trillion rubles for the construction of a high-speed route linking Moscow and Kazan. Russia expected to have the new route running by 2020 as a model of Russia-China transport and infrastructure cooperation.

????The development of Siberia and the Far East was Russia’s priority for the entire 21st Century, said Putin. Russia had made a number of major steps on this grand task, and was actively implementing a socioeconomic development program, including dozens of major investment projects. Russia was interested in attracting Chinese and other foreign investors to participate in their implementation.

????Russia had set up nine priority development areas in the Far East regions, which, along with special economic zones, should become locomotives of economic transformation in the Far East and attract investment and technology. These areas would offer tax incentives and simplified business procedures to facilitate investment and business regardless of the country the capital came from.

????Large changes were also in store for investors in the south of Primorye Territory, which was establishing a free port regime that would cover all the key ports from Nakhodka to Zarubino, including Vladivostok, he said. The law on free ports would come into effect in October 2015, and significant tax preferences – with a zero-rate on certain taxes – were to be introduced there. “I am convinced that these new opportunities will draw the interest of investors from China and a number of other Asian countries to the implementation of our plans,” said Putin.

????Putin also talked about the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok in September. He said its main purpose was to position Russia as an active participant in economic and integration processes in the Asia-Pacific region and to present specific cooperation projects to investors. He valued the Chinese partners’ intention to send a strong delegation. “We expect them to be especially active at the forum.”

????Putin said he was lucky to see China “on the move” over a number of years. With every visit, he noted China growing more economically powerful, while achieving new targets in building modern infrastructure and in social development.

????At the same time, he said, China was showing great care for its cultural and historic traditions. “Everyone who visits your wonderful country feels this practically everywhere,” he said. Cultural heritage sites were of special importance, reflecting the full measure of ancient Chinese civilization. His trip to the Shaolin monastery in 2006 was unforgettable, he said.

????Putin said the development road China had taken was a path of successful economic reform and wise social policy. This experience was of great value for Russia. With all their differences, Russia and China were facing common development targets, such as changing the economic structure to favor high-tech sectors. The two countries also had similar industrial priorities, including nuclear energy, space exploration, new information technologies, environmental protection, energy efficiency, and production of high technology medicines and medical equipment.

????“Our two countries have an enormous potential for closer business cooperation and active humanitarian ties. More importantly, we are prepared to make use of all these opportunities; we see mutual interest and trust between us grow and friendly ties become stronger. There is a lot we can achieve on this basis. And I am sure we will,” he said.