Lavrov spoke about humanitarian projects in Russia and Turkmenistan

The friendship monument will be erected in Ashgabat as a sign of gratitude to the residents of the Turkmen capital who received evacuees from besieged Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

The head of Russian diplomacy emphasized that Moscow and Ashgabat share a common position on the need to preserve historical memory, which is especially important in conditions when in Europe “they are careless about the revival of Nazism.”

“In this regard, we confirmed our commitment to this historical memory, in particular, we approved plans to create a monument of friendship in Ashgabat in gratitude to the residents of Ashgabat who showed hospitality by receiving the siege of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War,” Lavrov said following the meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers.

The minister also noted that in the field of educational, cultural and humanitarian relations, the parties pay special attention to such flagship projects as the creation of a joint Russian-Turkmen University and the construction of an additional building of the Russian-Turkmen school named after A.S. Pushkin in Ashgabat.