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EC Head Declines Moscow’s Invitation to Join Victory Day Celebrations

© AP Photo / Mindaugas KulbisDonald Tusk
Donald Tusk - Sputnik International
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Following Angela Merkel and David Cameron, European Council President Donald Tusk decided not to join the celebrations of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.

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MOSCOW (Sputnik) – European Council President Donald Tusk has declined Moscow's invitation to a Victory Day parade on May 9 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.

"My presence at the military parade on the side of the current occupants and those who raise arms against the civilians in eastern Ukraine would be, let me put it mildly, too ambiguous," Tusk was cited as saying by Polish newspaper Wyborcza on Sunday.

Moscow has issued invitations to numerous world leaders, inviting them to attend this year's parade.

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On March 11, German chancellor Angela Merkel declined to participate in the Victory Day celebrations and military parade in Moscow amid the conflict in eastern Ukraine and Russia's alleged aggression in the region. British Prime Minister David Cameron has also declined Moscow's invitation.

At least 22 countries have officially confirmed that they will participate in the celebrations in Moscow on May 9, including members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Israel and several countries from Asia.

In February, top Kremlin official Sergei Ivanov said that Russia would survive, if other countries did not attend the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow.

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The confrontation between the West and Russia has deepened amid the Ukrainian crisis as the European Union, the United States and their allies accused Moscow of escalating tensions in Donbas. Moscow has repeatedly denied the claims.

Earlier in March, during a meeting with US President Barack Obama Tusk called Russia an "enemy," adding that the European Union and the United States must maintain unity "to put an end to the aggressive policy of Russia."

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