BRUSSELS, May 4 - (RIA Novosti's Alexander Shishlo). Belgium's Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt will arrive in Moscow to attend the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of VE Day.
"The numbers of veterans who are living witnesses of that period are shrinking, and so it is important to hear their words and reminiscences and to mark once again their contribution to bringing the Second World War to an end," the Belgian premier said in a RIA Novosti interview ahead of his Moscow trip.
He said the upcoming celebrations are an important event.
"They must become the occasion for a pause in our life, the time we use for pondering our past and  our future, thinking of the basis on which we built our present, and how we will continue to build peace and welfare," Verhofstadt noted.
"I am full of admiration for the peoples of the former Soviet Union who fought in the war which for some was the longest and for others the deadliest. Pain, destruction and sufferings were immense. The number of victims was particularly great on the Eastern front, and the participation of its armies in the victory over Nazi Germany was decisive," the premier said.
He believes that the forthcoming celebrations "should become an occasion for us to declare our commitment to peace, and international cooperation in the name of freedom and wellbeing of our citizens."
"The way the conquered Germany was able to analyse its past and build a new life for itself is an example for us all," Verhofstadt indicated.