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Indian president to attend V-Day celebrations in Moscow

26 heads of state have already confirmed they will attend the celebrations in Moscow of the 70th anniversary of the victory, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on March 17

NEW DELHI, March 22. /TASS/. India’s President Pranab Mukherjee will participate in the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of Victory Day in Moscow, India’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

"India’s President Pranab Mukherjee accepted the invitation of the Russian leader to attend the celebrations of the Victory Day in Moscow," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Twenty six heads of state have already confirmed they will attend the celebrations in Moscow of the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on March 17.

"Invitations were sent to 68 heads of state, as well as UN, Council of Europe, UNESCO and EU chiefs," he said. "As of yesterday [March 16], 26 heads of state confirmed their participation."

Lavrov told a meeting of the Victory organizing committee that among them are the Chinese, Indian, South African, Vietnamese, North Korean and Czech leaders, as well as heads of UNESCO and the Council of Europe.

Lavrov said "steps made by the Americans and the aggresive core of the European Union" affected the participation of European delegations in the Victory anniversary events.

He said many people in Europe understood that the Moscow celebrations would be held not only to commemorate Europe's defenders from Nazism but "to revitalise the situation on the continent."

"We are expecting the Czech president, the head of the Slovak government, the Greek prime minister, the preisdent of Cyprus," Lavrov said.

The leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Norway have confirmed their participation in various formats, he added.

According to the minister, the decision of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to visit Moscow during the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of Victory has special importance. "The parameters of her participation in these events are being specified," said Lavrov.

He said that 28 heads of state attended the celebrations of the 65th anniversary of the Victory in 2010.

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