Flemish Minister-President Matthias Diependaele attended the annual Volkstrauertag ceremony at the German military cemetery in Lommel on Sunday and used his speech to urge continued support for Ukraine and stronger European defence co-operation.
Each year, the cemetery commemorates more than 38,000 German soldiers killed in the First and Second World Wars who are buried in Lommel.
As in previous years, ambassadors from countries that fought on opposing sides in the two world wars laid wreaths during the ceremony.
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Diependaele said remembrance events always affect him deeply, not only because of their historical significance but because of the need to learn lessons from the past for the future.
He said it was vital to keep such commemorations alive so that people understand peace cannot be taken for granted and must be actively protected by every generation.
In his speech, he also repeated his call for Europe to work together to build sufficient defence capacity to protect and preserve freedom.
Diependaele said he did not believe Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted a negotiated solution to the war in Ukraine.
He described Putin as a dictator who, in his view, would not make concessions or accept compromise, and argued that Russia would only stop if Ukraine and its allies succeeded in halting its advance.
For that reason, he said, continued support for Ukraine was necessary to stop what he called the Russian steamroller.
