BEIJING, February 10. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin could come to Beijing in early September to participate in the Chinese events marking the Victory Day in the anti-Japanese war, Russia’s Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov said on Tuesday.
"It is very important to say that September 3 will mark the 70th anniversary of the Chinese people’s victory in the anti-Japanese war. This event is as significant as May 9 [in Russia]," Denisov said.
"We expect that the leader of our state will take part in the victory celebrations," he said.
Moscow expects that other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will take an active part in the celebrations marking the Victory Day in the anti-Japanese war, Denisov went on to say.
Besides Russia and China, the SCO, a Eurasian political, economic and military organisation, founded in 2001, also includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
"Although at this time our chairmanship in the SCO will end, we hope that the Shanghai organization will take the most active part in the events related to the anniversary of the victory in the anti-Japanese war," the ambassador said.
The standing committee of China’s National People's Congress set September 3 as the Victory Day in the anti-Japanese war. On September 2, 1945, Japan formally surrendered to the Allies aboard the USS Missouri, officially ending World War II.
Chinese political scientists and historians have repeatedly said that this step comes amid attempts by some Japanese politicians to revise the results of World War II and deny the facts of aggression of the Japanese militarism in Asia.
Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said late last year that the events linked to the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War (June 22, 1941-May 9, 1945) are the most important ones in Putin’s foreign policy calendar in 2015.
Ushakov refused to unveil the full list of invitees for the celebrations in Moscow, saying that "it’s too long." The invitees are all the parties of the anti-Hitler coalition, and close allies and partners, including those from BRICS countries.