Russia criticizes Iran for hosting Holocaust conference

Source: Xinhuanet | 12-14-2006 08:20

MOSCOW, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Russia criticized on Wednesday a conference held in Iran that questioned the Holocaust, saying historic events should not be distorted.

In a statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said Iran's statements questioning the Holocaust are unacceptable.

The two-day international conference in Tehran was initiated by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has in the past called the Holocaust, in which 6 million Jews were killed, a "myth."

Russia is opposed to "the distortion of historic events, the concealment of the truth about the horrible crimes of the Nazis and the revision of the outcome of humanity's hardest struggle against Nazism," Kamynin said.

"Russia shares the determination of the UN General Assembly not to permit the denial of the Holocaust. This explains our attitude to the event in Tehran," he said.

The conference has sparked widespread criticism. But Iran's leadership has defended the conference as a scientific forum seeking answers to unresolved issues around the Holocaust.

Editor:Du Xiaodan