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Invitation for Putin to Normandy remains in force

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Night rehearsal of the Victory Day parade in Red Square

PARIS, May 08. /ITAR-TASS/. The invitation for Russian President Vladimir Putin to participate in the events marking the 70th anniversary of the Allies' landing in Normandy remained in force, France’s Defense Minister Jean Yves Le Drian said on Thursday.

"How can France not invite the Russian president, taking into consideration that the Russian people bore heavy losses on battlefields of World War II?" the minister said on BFM-TV when he was asked about the invitation. The minister noted the Battle of Normandy would not have been successful if there had been no battles on the eastern front at the same time.

Events to mark the 70th anniversary of the anti-Hitler coalition troops' landing will be held in Normandy on June 6. Great Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Barack Obama have confirmed they will attend the commemorations. A meeting of leaders of states will take place in Benouville, and an international commemoration ceremony will take place in Ouistreham on the Normandy coast.

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