Romanian memorial printed on commemorative stamp

The Romanian army memorial situated at the Central Military Cemetery in Zvolen, central Slovakia, has made it onto a stamp issued by the Romanian post office on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Romania and Slovakia, TASR learnt on Thursday. Romanian Ambassador to Slovakia Steluta Arhire earlier on Thursday handed over the special edition of the philatelic collection to Zvolen mayor Lenka Balkovičová. "With this stamp we would like to express our gratitude for the care that for decades has been given to the cemetery with the remains of thousands of Romanian soldiers who liberated Slovakia in 1945," said Arhire. Soldiers of the Royal Romanian Army participated in battles for the liberation of Slovakia from December 1944 until the final battles of WWII in May 1945. Around 240,000 Romanian soldiers fought for the liberation of Slovakia, while more than 11,000 of them died in the battles. A substantial number of the soldiers (10,382) are buried at the Central Military Cemetery in Zvolen. A total of 240,000 stamps worth €1.30 will be issued in Slovakia.