Pahor said that peace could only be maintained and strengthened if problems were solved peacefully and in dialogue.

"This is sometimes hard because we talk with those who have different stances. But what we have in common is human dignity," said Pahor.

Next January, Pahor and a delegation of Slovenian Auschwitz survivors will attend a commemoration marking the 75th anniversary of the concentration camp's liberation in Poland.

The keynote speaker, Minister Česnik stressed the main goal of united Europe was for the horrors of the Second World War not to repeat ever again.

"Despite this, political hate speech and nationalist speech is emerging in various parts of united Europe, even in our immediate neighbourhood."

He considers it important for future generations not to forget the recent history of the Slovenian nation, and regrets that some would deny certain historical facts.

The commemoration was held under the slogan No More Shall Foes, but Neighbours Be!, a verse from A Toast, the Slovenian anthem.

It marked several anniversaries, including the 175th anniversary of A Toast, a patriotic but pacifist poem written by France Prešeren, and 30 years since its seventh stanza became the national anthem.