British minister's tribute to Soviet wartime commander

The British Defence Secretary George Robertson has paid tribute to a Soviet military commander, Marshal Ivan Stepanovich Konev, for his part in the Allied victory in the Second World War.

On what would have been the Marshal's hundredth birthday today, the British Minister has written to his widow describing Marshal Konev as one of the greatest military leaders of the century.

Marshal Konev led Soviet forces at the Battle of Kursk in south-west Russia in August 1943.

It was the largest tank battle in history and many say the decisive defeat of Nazi Germany.

The British government awarded Marshal Konev an honorary knighthood, which Mr Robertson presented posthumously to his widow in Moscow last month.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service