Medvedev tells Victory Day parade to remember lessons of WWII

Moscow, May 9 (UNI) Russian President Dmitry Medvedev today urged the international community to remember the lessons of World War II and warned of armed conflicts, at a military parade to mark the 63rd anniversary of the Victory Day.

Two days after formally taking office, Mr Medvedev said at the Red Square parade, ''History of world wars warns that armed conflicts do not erupt on their own; they are fuelled by those whose irresponsible ambitions overpower the interests of countries and whole continents, the interests of millions of people.'' ''Hence, we need to remember the lessons of that war and work everyday so that such tragedies never happen again,'' he noted.

Mr Medvedev also warned against attempts to revise borders and ignore international law.

''It is necessary to take an extremely serious approach towards any attempts to sow racial or religious enmity, foment the ideology of terror and extremism, and interfere in other states' affairs, not to mention attempts to revise borders,'' he said.

''We cannot tolerate disrespect for international law-- the law that has been hard-won by the entire international community, without which no safe life and fair world order is possible,'' he added.

Mr Medvedev, newly-appointed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and other top Russian leaders were present at the central tribune.

In a rare show of Russian military strength, tanks and intercontinental ballistic missile launchers, including Topol-M ballistic missiles, T-90 tanks and Tu-160 and Tu-95MS strategic bombers, were paraded for the first time after the collapse of the Soviet Union as the Kremlin restarted the Soviet-era tradition of parading military equipment at the Red Square.

''Our army and fleet are growing stronger, as Russia itself,'' Mr Medvedev told the 8,000 troops taking part in the parade.

Russia remembers the soldiers who perished in World War Two, known as Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany, annually on the Victory Day.

''The Victory festivity has become the most sacred, it has become forever a symbol of our national unity,'' he stressed.

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