Russian diplomats denied visit to grave of Soviet soldiers in Alaska: Report

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - US authorities did not allow Russian diplomats to visit the graves of Soviet soldiers in the state of Alaska, Moscow’s state-run media reported.

“Unfortunately, the local American authorities, without explanation, did not allow embassy diplomats to visit the Fort Richardson National Cemetery and kneel before the graves of Soviet pilots and sailors who died in Alaska in 1942-1945,” Nadezhda Shumova, the head of the Russian Embassy’s consular department, told state news agency TASS on Sunday.

Shumova said that attempts to obtain access to the memorials through the US State Department were unsuccessful, adding that “the diplomatic note of the (Russian) embassy was ignored."

The report noted that a separate permit is required to visit the memorial since the graves are located on the territory of an active military base. It said that Russian diplomats and journalists were granted such a pass in the past.

"We honor the memory of our compatriots who gave their lives for their motherland and those fallen US citizens who fought during World War II in the ranks of the anti-Hitler coalition," Shumova added.

Some 11 Soviet soldiers are buried at the Fort Richardson National Cemetery, all of whom died during World War II while flying planes from the US to the Soviet Union as part of a lend-lease program, the report said.