Berlin “cannot take part” in a military parade in Moscow, the diplomat has told Russian media
FILE PHOTO: German Ambassador to Russia Alexander Lambsdorff. © Kristina Kormilitsina / Sputnik Berlin will have no representation at Russia’s 80th-anniversary celebrations of the victory over Nazi Germany on May 9, Ambassador Alexander Lambsdorff told TASS on Friday. Germany “cannot take part” in the parade on Red Square due to the Ukraine conflict, he told the news agency. Moscow has invited 19 nations to contribute troops for a Victory Day parade in the heart of the Russian capital, but did not name them. It views Germany as an “unfriendly nation” contributing to a Western proxy war against Russia, in which Ukrainian troops serve as ‘cannon fodder’. Russia has sent formal invitations to “friendly” nations to participate in the parade, according to Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, who serves as a deputy to President Vladimir Putin in the committee organizing the celebrations. Ten have confirmed their attendance, including seven former Soviet republics, Belousov reported last week.
Read more While no formal list of participants has been made public, officials have hinted that North Korea could send troops. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has pledged to attend the celebration, expressing commitment to honoring the sacrifices of the Red Army and the Soviet people in defeating Axis powers during World War II. Fico stands out among Western leaders in his position on the Ukraine conflict. He has described the response by the US and its allies as incapable of ending the hostilities and damaging to members of the EU. He and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky have recently clashed over Kiev’s refusal to extend a natural gas transit agreement with Russia after it expired late last year. The decision seriously hurts EU members, including Slovakia, Fico has stated.
