Hungary is contributing tens of millions of dollars to the goal of the American Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) to build a museum and a research center in Washington, the Hungarian foreign minister said on his Facebook page on Sunday.

Peter Szijjarto announced that the government had signed a contract of approval this week, to help implement the plan for a foundation set up by the US Congress 27 years ago. As a sign of Poland s and Hungary s joint historical memory, the Polish government also offered a significant amount, he wrote in his post.

Hungary s foreign minister stressed that he finds international political aspirations that try to relativize the sins of communism and exonerate the representatives of communist ideology disappointing.

„Communist dictatorships have killed, crippled or ruined the lives of tens of millions of people. These sins must not be forgotten or forgiven,” he wrote, stressing that it is important for posterity to see the true face of communism and to honour the victims with dignity.

„We, Hungarians, the people of freedom, find it important to contribute to the establishment of a place in the land of freedom that constantly reminds everyone about communist regimes being responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of people worldwide”, Mr Szijjarto concluded.