An international parliamentary conference dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War will take place on Wednesday in Russia's second largest city of Saint Petersburg, the press-service of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly has said.

The speaker of the Russian parliament's upper house, Sergei Mironov, will chair the conference to be held in St. Peterburg's Tavrichesky Palace. The talks will involve delegations of the CIS parliaments and some 80 representatives of international parliamentary organizations, including PACE President Mevlut Cavusoglu and Robert Walter, the chairman of the European Security and Defense Assembly.

Earlier, the secretary general of CIS Interparliamentary Assembly Council, Mikhail Krotov, denounced as "hypocrisy" attempts to diminish the Soviet people's role in the victory over the Nazis, which have taken place in some countries, particularly, in Baltic states and Poland, and have faced strict opposition in Russia.

He said the conference will adopt a declaration condemning the Nazi glorification, which will then be handed over to international organizations.

The war continues to be a contentious issue in Russia's relations with the Baltic states of Estonia and Latvia, over their perceived glorification of Nazi collaborators. Parades in honor of Waffen-SS veterans, involving veterans from the Latvian Legion and the 20th Estonian SS Division and their supporters, are held annually in the two Baltic states.

Relations with Poland are also strained over the Katyn massacre and the Soviet takeover of Polish territory at the start of the war.

News source: RIA Novosti
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