Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to back Germany's bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, saying in an interview the time had ended when Germany should "self flagellate" over its Nazi past. "Germany should not feel continually shackled in its rights on the world stage," Putin told the Bild newspaper in an interview to be published Saturday, the eve of the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder are among the world leaders, including US President George W. Bush, who will join commemorations in Moscow on May 9 of the fall of Hitler and the end of World War II in Europe. "The Russian Federation will support a stronger role for the federal republic (of Germany) in the UN, and equally for it to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council," he said in the interview with the tabloid, given jointly with Schröder.