Germany excluded Russia and Belarus from the celebration of the end of World War II

The German parliament ruled out the ambassadors of Russia and Belarus from the central celebration of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, which will take place on May 8 – DPA agency said on Thursday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Berlin has previously warned about the instrumentalization of these celebrations.

The Bundestag administration refers to the recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which advised against inviting representatives of these two countries to similar events – writes DPA, citing information obtained from the Parliament's press office.

A diplomatic corps was invited to the celebration, to which all ambassadors accredited in Berlin belong to, but as usual, the “Federal Government Assessment regarding the invitation of representatives of” specific countries. “As a result of this assessment, among others, the ambassadors of the Russian Federation and Belarus were not invited,” they were reported.

The German Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already been advised against the participation of representatives of the Russian and Belarus authorities in ceremonies commemorating the end of World War II. The ministry argued that Russia can “instrumentalize these events and incorrectly connect them with the war against Ukraine.”

On Wednesday, the Russian ambassador to West Germany Sergei Nieczaczew took part in a ceremony commemorating the greatest battle of World War II on German land, on the Hills of Seelow near Berlin. About 33 thousand died in it. Red Army soldiers, as well as 16 thousand German soldiers and 2,000 Polish soldiers. Nieczazew was not invited by the organizers, but he was not prevented from participating and was welcomed in a friendly way – DPA noted.

This was met with sharp criticism of the Ukrainian ambassador in Germany, Oleksij Makejew. He noticed especially since Nieczajew wore the ribbon of St. Jerzy – from 2014 a symbol, among others Russian invasion of Ukraine, forbidden in Ukraine, as well as in Latvia and Moldova. According to DPA Makejew, it was “a clear mockery of the victims – victims 80 years ago and today”.

The ambassador reminded that in recent Russian attacks, over 50 civilians, including 11 children, were killed on the cities of Krzywy Krzywy and the sums. “A man with a ribbon of St. Jerzy represents a state that is solely responsible for these war crimes,” he noted.

From Berlin Berenik Lemańczyk (PAP)

bml/ akl/