Russian lawmaker considers Kiev’s move to ban St. George Ribbon sign of lean to Nazism

MOSCOW, May 12. /TASS/. Kiev’s attempts to ban St. George’s Ribbon speak for its good feeling for Nazism and hatred toward the Victory in World War II, Sergey Naryshkin, the speaker of the Russian parliament’s lower house said on Tuesday.

His statement comes in the wake of Ukraine’s recent proposal to ban public use of St. George Ribbons. The initiative was put forward by Anton Gerashchenko, a lawmaker of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada, the country’s parliament and an adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister.

"I would say that on the one hand this is an obvious proof of their absolutely positive attitude toward Nazism, and on the other it speaks for their hatred towards the victory over Nazism," the State Duma speaker said at a meeting with French Senate’s delegation in Moscow.

The Russian lawmaker said that that the issue of joint fight against attempts of Nazi glorification was still topical "and the event in Ukraine are an obvious proof of that, since the main driving force in the so-called party of war in Kiev are pro-Nazi forces, who without any hesitation calls themselves as adherers and ideological followers of Ukrainian fascists."

"They have no scruples at all flying Nazi symbols in public and on the contrary they express hatred to symbols of the Great Victory over Nazism, including the St. George Ribbon," Naryshkin added.

The senior Russian lawmaker also said that Russia and France should jointly nip the attempts to distort reasons and lessons of World War II as well as the attempts of Nazi glorification.

"I am confident that while we remember lessons of World War II, we should care that the European continent has the atmosphere of trust and cooperation; we should nip jointly any attempts to distort reasons and lessons of World War II, we should stop any attempts of Nazi glorification," he said.

"Our countries and people fought fascism together, they are among the respected winners," the speaker said.

Therefore, Naryshkin said, "it was very important that France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and French veterans participated in the celebration of the 70th anniversary of Victory in World War II [in Moscow]."