Israel thanks Anibal Torres for apologies in Peru

Fewer protests in Lima but several blockades continue in Peru 5:24

(CNN Spanish) --

The Israeli embassy in Peru thanked the apologies offered by the president of the Council of Ministers of Peru, Aníbal Torres, who this Thursday seemed to praise Adolf Hitler in a comment pointing out the construction of highways and airports in Germany during the Third Reich as an example of infrastructure development to consider.

"Israel thanks Prime Minister Aníbal Torres for his public apologies," the embassy said on its Twitter account.

Earlier, from Huancayo, while talking about the country's communication routes and infrastructure, Torres said that Italy and Germany "were the same as us (Peru)."

"But on one occasion Adolf Hitler visits northern Italy, and Mussolini shows him a highway built from Milan to Brescia. Hitler saw that, he went to his country and filled it with highways, airports and made Germany the first economic power of the world," the official said at an event later joined by President Pedro Castillo.

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Shortly after, the Israeli and German embassies in Peru regretted Torres's statements.

"We regret that the Peruvian political discourse includes referents such as Hitler and Mussolini as an example of prosperity. Regimes of death and terror cannot be a sign of progress," said the Israeli embassy in Peru, in a statement concluding that "Hitler was responsible of the death of six million Jews, praising him is an offense to the victims of that global tragedy.

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For its part, the German embassy said in a statement that "Adolf Hitler was a fascist and genocidal dictator, in whose name the worst war of all time was carried out from Germany and a genocide of six million Jews was committed. Faced with this scenario, Hitler is not the appropriate reference as an example of any kind."

The Twitter account of the European Union in Peru echoed this statement.

Hours after his comments, Torres said that "we must not misunderstand things, it is not that I am taking Germany at that time or Hitler as an example to follow, because I have also said that he was a great criminal, a great delinquent and therefore course he and his followers were condemned".

"Mr. Ambassador of Israel, if he believes that I have offended him, I apologize and we will talk personally," he added.

To this, the Israeli embassy replied: "We will be happy to hold a meeting with you."