Defense Minister attends ceremony held at the Hmeimim base on the the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazism

LATTAKIA, May.9, (ST)- On the occasion of the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazism in the Great Russian Patriotic War, a central ceremony was held on Tuesday at the Hmeimim base.

Syria’s Deputy Commander-in- Chief of the Army and Armed Forces, Defense Minister, Major General Ali Mahmoud Abbas, accompanied by senior officers and the governors of Tartous and Lattakia attended the ceremony .

Abbas delivered a speech during the celebration in which he hailed the brave stances of the Russian people against the Nazi aggression at the time of Great Russian Patriotic War and the victory recorded by the Soviet Union’s troops in defense of values of rights, justice and peace.

He appreciated Federal Russia’s support to Syria in the war on terror and its continued support in the face of earthquake’s repercussions that hit a number of Syrian cities last February.

For his part, the Commander of Group of Russian Forces in Syria, Andrey Serdyukov, referred to the importance of the great victory achieved by the Russians over fascist occupiers, saying that the Russian troops are carrying out their mission in Syria with courage and bravery.

The celebration included a military parade with the participation of Russian and Syrian army units, parachutes and different military shows, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

Basma Qaddour