Twenty-six heads of state from the 68 invited have confirmed their attendance at the Moscow events commemorating the 70th anniversary of WWII victory, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
“The invitations have been sent to 68 heads of state, as well as the leaders of the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the European Union. As of yesterday, the leaders of 26 states, UNESCO and the Council of Europe confirmed their attendance,” Lavrov said at a meeting of the Victory organizing committee.
Twenty-eight foreign guests attended the celebrations of the 65th WWII victory anniversary in 2010, the minister continued.
“People’s Republic of China President Xi Jinping, the presidents of India, South Africa, Vietnam and Mongolia, and the leaders of Cuba and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have confirmed their attendance of the upcoming events,” he said.
The attendance of the Czech president, the prime minister of Slovakia, the prime minister of Greece and the president of Cyprus is also expected. “The heads of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the president of Republika Srpska within Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the leaders of Iceland, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Norway, have all confirmed their participation in various forms,” he said.
Some leaders have confirmed their participation orally, the minister said.
He also said that Moscow had been drawing up proposals on a special address to war veterans and home front workers by the heads of state to participate in the celebrations.
“This year is the CIS Year of Veterans of the Great Patriotic War, so it will be proposed that the heads of state participating in these events should make an address to war veterans and home front workers,” the foreign minister continued.
“This will have an important unifying effect on veterans and bolster our interaction with neighbors, for instance, in the effort to counteract falsifications of history,” he said.
