CAEN, June 6 (RIA Novosti) – Ceremonies to mark the 70th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy are to begin in France this Friday. The festivities are being attended by heads of state and governments from two dozen countries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On the sidelines of his visit to France, the Russian leader has already met with the British and French leaders, while negotiations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel are expected later in the day. A meeting between President Putin and Ukraine’s President-elect Petro Poroshenko remains a possibility, although it has not been scheduled.
The meetings in France mark President Putin’s first face-to-face contact with his western colleagues following a flare-up between Russia and the West over the crisis in Ukraine.
Earlier Russia’s envoy to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, said the number of leaders willing to meet and talk to Putin during the celebrations in Normandy was growing, including amongst the EU leadership.
On Thursday, Putin held meetings with British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande.
The bilateral meeting between Putin and Cameron took place soon after the Russian leader’s arrival in France. The two reportedly avoided the traditional pre-talk handshake. During the meeting Putin and Cameron discussed the revival of the Russia-UK dialogue, which is currently ‘frozen', and focused their attention on attempting to diplomatically resolve the Ukrainian crisis. According to Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s press secretary, the two leaders shook hands following the talks.
After his meeting with Cameron, Putin visited the residence of Francois Hollande, where the two had a constructive dialogue, exchanged views on the state of and prospects for bilateral relations, as well as discussing various means of defusing the crisis in Ukraine at length.
Putin’s talks with British and French leaders followed the G7 summit in Brussels that took place without Russia this year. In light of the recent events in Ukraine, the US and other western countries called for the suspension of Russia’s membership in the Group of Eight and agreed to relocate the G8 summit, originally scheduled to take place in the Russian city of Sochi, to Brussels, with just seven nations.
Following the talks in Brussels, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the G7 leaders had agreed to call upon President Putin to cooperate with Ukraine’s newly elected president and contribute to the stabilization of the country.
The allied troops landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944, opening up a second front against the Nazis. The landings marked a turning point in World War II, which had raged on since 1939. The operation lasted for 85 days, and is believed to have claimed the lives of about 20,000 people.
Despite the political undertones at this year’s celebrations, veterans are to be honored guests at the ceremonies. According to organizers, up to 1,000 veterans are coming to France for the anniversary.
Commemorations on Friday are to start with a ceremony in Caen, where the French president, for the first time, is to pay the tribute to the memory of the victims. Later, a bilateral ceremony involving the French and US leaders is planned.
Throughout the day similar commemorations are to take place in cemeteries where British, Canadian and Polish soldiers are buried.
At about noon, the guests including heads of delegations, representatives of regional and national French authorities and one veteran from each country are to have lunch at the 18th-century Château de Bénouville.
The town of Ouistreham is to host the official international ceremony, with the main event to take place on Sword Beach, one of the sites of the landings where British soldiers faced major resistance, with an estimated 630 casualties.
