Russia will be invited to the French ceremony in June to mark 80 years since the World War II D-Day landings, organisers said Tuesday (Apr 16).
However, the invite will not include President Vladimir Putin
France marks the 80th anniversary of the 1944 Normandy landings in June. During the ceremony, many world leaders are expected to attend, but Putin will miss it
In the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow was slapped with sanctions. It shredded ties with the West
As a result of the invasion, the International Criminal Court in 2023 issued an arrest warrant for Putin on the war crime accusation of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.
the Russian president attended the 70th anniversary of the landings in June 2014, despite the annexation of Crimea just months earlier.
The Liberation Mission organising committee said: "In view of the circumstances, President Putin will not be invited to take part in the commemorations of the Normandy landings." The committee didn't elaborate on the circumstances.
"Russia will, however, be invited to be represented so that the importance of the commitment and sacrifices of the Soviet peoples, as well as its contribution to the victory of 1945, can be honoured," it added
Meanwhile, Putin on Tuesday urged all sides in West Asia to refrain from action that would trigger a new confrontation, the Kremlin said.
Putin and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi held a phone conversation about what the Kremlin called "retaliatory measures taken by Iran".
Vladimir Putin expressed hope that all sides would show reasonable restraint and prevent a new round of confrontation fraught with catastrophic consequences for the entire region," the Kremlin said.
"Ebrahim Raisi noted that Iran's actions were forced and limited in nature," the Kremlin said. "At the same time, he stressed Tehran's disinterest in further escalation of tensions
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