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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk attend the cornerstone dedication ceremony for the Church of the Resurrection of Christ

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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's address:

Mr Prime Minister, distinguished representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church,

First I'd like to thank you, Mr Prime Minister, for agreeing to attend the memorial for the Polish officers executed here in 1940 and the cornerstone dedication ceremony for the Church of the Resurrection.

The site of this tragedy is being transformed into a sacred place. Ordinary people will be able to come to this church to lay flowers and pray for their relatives who were killed and buried here in the ground of Katyn, be they Polish, Russian or other nationalities of the former Soviet Union. This place calls to mind the victims of repression of the totalitarian regime and renews our commitment not to let anything like it happen in the future. 

It is symbolic that this ceremony is taking place soon after Easter Sunday, and it is remarkable that Easter Sunday fell on the same day for Orthodox Christians and Catholics this year. With the blessing of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, this church will house several icons, equally revered by the Russian Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, especially in Poland. It will be another symbol uniting our nations.

Christ has risen!