The German parliament has excluded the ambassadors of Russia and Belarus from the list of invitees to a special session commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. This is reported by Reuters, writes UNN.
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According to the media, this decision underscores Germany's dissatisfaction with how Russia's role in liberating Europe from Nazi terror should be viewed in the anniversary year. In particular, given that Putin used the legacy of World War II to justify his invasion of Ukraine.
A Bundestag representative referred to the federal government's assessment in a statement explaining the move, adding: "This assessment led to the fact that the ambassadors of the Russian Federation and Belarus, among others, were not invited." The representative did not specify what the assessment was about.
Representatives of other embassies will join German legislators at the event in the Bundestag plenary hall, which will be dedicated to the end of the war and, with it, the end of the campaign of violence and genocide carried out by Nazi Germany in Europe.
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A representative of the Ukrainian Embassy in Berlin said that the Ukrainian Ambassador will "of course" participate in the event, and welcomed the Bundestag's decision not to invite the Russian Ambassador.
On Wednesday, Russian Ambassador Sergei Nechayev attended a memorial event in the eastern city of Seelow, despite government warnings about Moscow's attempts to "instrumentalize" events marking the 80th anniversary.
The day before, despite warnings from the German authorities, Russian Ambassador Sergei Nechayev took part in a memorial event in the city of Seelow, dedicated to the Battle of the Seelow Heights, one of the bloodiest battles before the fall of the Third Reich. In that battle, an estimated 30,000 Soviet soldiers were killed, including Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians.
In response to the Bundestag's decision, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called it an "insult" by the "ideological heirs and direct descendants" of Nazi criminals.