President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko met yesterday with President of the Russian Jewish Congress (RJC) and the World Holocaust Forum Foundation, Viatcheslav Kantor.
According to the RJC press service, during the meeting, both men underscored the importance of holding international forums on the Holocaust. They also discussed the state of preparations for the World Holocaust Forum, which will be held in Kiev in September 2006.

The RJC press service also reported that Yushchenko remarked on the scale and international reach of the upcoming forum.

“The Holocaust is not just a Jewish tragedy; it is a tragedy that belongs to the whole world,” the RJC press service quoted Yushchenko as saying.

Kantor called the upcoming forum in Babi Yar, Ukraine “…a pulpit from which world leaders can come together to take a united stand against the growing dangers of xenophobia and racial intolerance, which raise their heads in an atmosphere of weak historical memory and conscious denial of the Holocaust.”

Kantor also thanked the Ukrainian president for his “…careful attention to this problem and thorough study of the issues.”

“We, the citizens of Europe, including Russia and Ukraine, are acting not just in the name of Jews, but in the name of all of those who fought and continue to fight fascism in all its past and present incarnations,” Kantor was quoted as saying.