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80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany

Many world leaders traveled to Moscow for Victory Day defying pressure, Kremlin says

According to the Dennik news website, the Slovak prime minister's plane flew to Moscow on a longer, southern route because Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania denied the plane access to their airspace

Presidential Press Secretary of Russia Dmitry Peskov Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

Presidential Press Secretary of Russia Dmitry Peskov

© Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

MOSCOW, May 9. /TASS/. Many international leaders came to Moscow to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany despite the pressure to stay away, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Channel One television.

"In fact, of course, a great deal of them came here despite the pressure that was exerted," Peskov said when asked how the celebrations were going down following warnings to international participants against visiting Moscow.

According to the Dennik news website, the Slovak prime minister's plane flew to Moscow on a longer, southern route, which took it on a trip over Hungary, Romania, the Black Sea and Georgia. That’s because Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on Wednesday denied the plane access to their airspace. These countries also closed their airspace to the plane of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

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