Paris [France], April 18: France says it will not invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the landing of Allied troops in Normandy in the Second World War at the beginning of June.
However, Russia will be invited to send a representative. "The Russian Federation has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine for more than two years, which France condemns in the strongest terms," the state organizers of the D-Day commemoration announced on Wednesday.
"In view of these circumstances, President Putin will not be invited to take part in the commemorations of the Normandy landings. However, Russia will be invited to be represented in order to honour the importance of the commitment and sacrifices of the Soviet people and their contribution to the victory of 1945," they said.
The international commemoration ceremony with leaders from all over the world will take place on June 6 on the Normandy coast.
Putin attended the ceremonies in northern France 10 years ago, and met the then US president Barack Obama, among others.
The massive military operation 80 years ago was the prelude to the liberation of France and Western Europe from Nazi rule. Around 4,100 landing craft with more than 150,000 soldiers set off for northern France from Portsmouth in Britain.
The Allied forces on D-Day consisted mainly of troops from the United States, Britain, Canada, Poland and France.
Source: Qatar Tribune