PARIS (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be invited to the 80th anniversary of the 1944 Normandy landings in June, French organizers said, although some Russian representatives would be welcome in recognition of the country’s sacrifice in time of war.
“For more than two years, the Russian Federation has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine, which France condemns in the strongest terms,” organizers said in a statement to Reuters.
“Under these circumstances, President Putin will not be invited to take part in the commemoration of the Normandy landings. Russia will however be invited to be represented, given the importance of its role and the sacrifice of the Soviet people, so that its contribution to the victory in 1945 can be honored,” they added.
June commemorations mark the day when more than 150,000 Allied soldiers invaded France to drive out the forces of Nazi Germany. Millions of Soviet soldiers died in the war.
Putin would have been unlikely to attend the Normandy event. He has rarely left Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, partly because of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant that Moscow says it does not recognise.