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79th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany

Russia didn’t invite officials from unfriendly countries to victory parade, diplomat says

Maria Zakharova said veteran organizations in unfriendly countries weren’t affected by the decision not to invite officials

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova Vladimir Smirnov/TASS

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova

© Vladimir Smirnov/TASS

MOSCOW, May 9. /TASS/. Moscow did not send out invitations to the Victory Day parade to ambassadors and officials of unfriendly countries, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

When asked whether ambassadors of unfriendly countries were invited to the Victory Day parade, she answered in the negative.

"No, unfriendly countries will not be invited to the parade for a third straight year. They have not been invited since 2022 because the regimes in these countries are pursuing - let's formulate it as an unfriendly policy; this is a term that was introduced - but in fact they are pursuing an aggressive policy toward our country. They formulate it as inflicting strategic defeat. For our part, we formulate it as hybrid warfare," the diplomat said in an interview with TASS.

She said veteran organizations in unfriendly countries weren’t affected by the decision not to invite officials.

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Moscow Maria Zakharova

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