The Secretaries-General of the Commonwealth of Independent States Sergey Lebedev, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Imangali Tasmagambetov, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Nurlan Yermekbayev have jointly condemned attempts to distort the history of the Great Victory. They made this declaration on 3 September 2025 in Beijing, where they had gathered for a meeting alongside the SCO Heads of State Council and the SCO Plus format.
The document states:
“In the year of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in World War II, we pay tribute to the heroic deed of the peoples who saved the world from enslavement and destruction by Nazism, fascism, and militarism at the cost of tens of millions of lives and countless personal tragedies. The war was unleashed by those who sought unchallenged world domination, depriving other peoples of freedom, national culture, identity, and traditional values. We bow our heads in memory of all the fallen. We express sincere respect to the surviving veterans and home front workers for their heroism and courage during the war. We resolutely condemn any actions to distort the significance of the Great Victory and the role of the peoples of the CIS, CSTO and SCO member states in defeating fascism and militarism, as well as attempts to rehabilitate the ideas of Nazism and racial superiority, justify genocide and other crimes against civilians, and promote radical extremist ideologies. We emphasize that crimes against humanity have no statute of limitations”.
The leaders of the three organizations stressed that safeguarding and truthfully presenting the history of World War II is essential to avoid repeating such catastrophes and to advance global peace, security, and cooperation.
They also expressed their support for the yearly UN General Assembly resolution, “Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fueling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance”.
“One of the most important outcomes of World War II was the creation of the United Nations Organization in 1945 as the foundation of the modern system of international relations. A lasting global peace is only possible with the unconditional compliance with international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter by all states. We declare our readiness for the further development of cooperation between the CIS, CSTO and SCO with the UN and its specialized agencies in areas of mutual interest,” the document says.
The Secretaries-General concluded by affirming that the Victory in World War II resulted from the collective effort of all nations and peoples who stood together against a common enemy. They stated that today, their common duty to both past and future generations is to spare the world from the horrors of war and to take every measure to prevent such terrible tragedies from happening again.