Welcome
Visit to Moscow by Minister of State Roth
Michael Roth, Minister of State for Europe, will visit Moscow from 21 to 23 June.
He will hold political talks in the Russian capital with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Grushko and members of the Duma on German-Russian relations, Russia’s relations with the EU and Euro-Atlantic security issues. Meetings with representatives of Russian civil society, with whom Minister of State Roth will discuss the human rights situation, will also be a key part of the visit. Joint efforts to foster shared remembrance of the victims of the National Socialist campaign of annihilation in the former Soviet Union will be another important topic during the visit. In this context, the Minister of State will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to mark the 77th anniversary of National Socialist Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union.
Prior to his departure, Minister of State Roth said:
My first official visit to Moscow is taking place at a time when dialogue is urgently needed between our countries. It is more important than ever that we speak with, and not merely about, one another. I am looking forward to my talks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the Duma and with young people. The main aim of my visit is to discuss the human rights situation and ways to foster a shared culture of remembrance. I firmly believe that Germany must live up appropriately to its historic responsibility for the 27 million people who died in the former Soviet Union as a result of the Nazis’ war of annihilation. That is why I am very grateful to be able to commemorate the 77th anniversary of National Socialist Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union in Moscow.