“Given the circumstances, President Putin will not be invited to participate in the commemorations of the Normandy Landings,” they said, according to the French news agency AFP.
A Russian delegation was, however, invited, although the organizers did not specify who exactly would be among the Russian guests. The ceremony will pay tribute to “those who stood up, those who suffered and those who fought and liberated,” according to organizers.
In June 1944, Allied troops stormed the German-held beaches of Normandy, beginning a land invasion of continental Europe that ended in victory over the Nazis in 1945. The Soviet Union fought Adolf Hitler’s forces on the Eastern Front for years, gradually pushing them back before also reaching Berlin.
This is not the first time Putin has been snubbed by a similar event. He was not invited to the 75th anniversary of D-Day in 2019, which included Theresa May, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Angela Merkel and Donald Trump. were present.
At the time, Putin made it clear he didn’t care. Honest.
“Why should they always invite me everywhere?” What am I, an operetta general? I have enough to do here, it’s absolutely no problem,” he told news agencies, according to Le Figaro.
Politico
