Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, May 8, 2006. (Xinhua/AFP)

MOSCOW, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin sent congratulations to the leaders of the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the victory in World War II, the Kremlin press service announced on Monday.

    "On this memorable day in the history of our peoples, we bend our heads before those who went through the ordeal of joint struggle against fascism, forging our common Great Victory and not sparing their strength and life," Putin was quoted by the Interfaxnews agency as saying.

    "The hearts of people of good will always be filled with the grateful memory for our peoples' combat feat and heroic work effort. Standing shoulder to shoulder in a hard battle, they defeated the Nazi aggressors and safeguarded the freedom and happiness of the future generations," Putin wrote.

    "It is the duty of the present-day generation to treat our common history with respect," the Russian president said.

    Putin asked the CIS leaders to convey his cordial wishes of good health, well-being and long life to the World War II veterans,and peace and prosperity to the people of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. Enditem