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Victory Day Invitation to Moscow Not a 'Court Summons' - Lavrov

© Sputnik / Mikhail Fomichev / Go to the mediabankВоенный парад, посвященный 65-летию Победы в Великой Отечественной войне
Военный парад, посвященный 65-летию Победы в Великой Отечественной войне - Sputnik International
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Russia will be glad to see friends coming to the May 9 Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, but will hold no grudge if some of them can’t show up, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.

“The 70th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War is a great occasion, above all for the Russian people… An invitation to attend V-Day celebrations in Moscow is not a court summons — it is something we always send to our friends… If some of them plan otherwise, well, we can understand that,” Lavrov said when asked if Russia was disappointed by some countries’ leaders refusing to come.

Parade on 69th anniversary of victory in Great Patriotic War - Sputnik International
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Some World Leaders Too 'Scared' to Visit Moscow for Victory Day – Lavrov
World leaders traditionally attend the May 9 Victory Day festivities in Moscow. Sixty-eight heads of state and government, as well as the heads of the UN, UNESCO, the EU and the Council of Europe, were invited to come this year.

This year's Victory Day parade in Moscow – the biggest Russian military parade ever held – will be attended by about 25 foreign leaders, including presidents of the BRICS group of emerging economies, former Soviet republics-turned-CIS states, as well as some Asian and European countries.

Several European leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, have declined the invitation in light of their allegations of Russia's involvement in the Ukrainian internal crisis.

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