MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/. The United States has canceled this year’s ceremony commemorating the linkup of the Soviet and US armies on the Elbe in 1945, Russia’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov has said.

"Sadly, this year we have been denied permission to hold such events. formally, the decision was made by the Arlington Cemetery, but we have been told quite clearly that they followed instructions from the Department of State. We are well aware of the reasons in the light of the Russophobia that has been unfolded in the United States," Antonov told the Rossiya-1 television news channel in an interview.

The Spirit of the Elbe memorial was unveiled at the Arlington cemetery near Washington in April 1955. The bronze plaque bears an engraved inscription in Russian and English reading: "In recognition of the cooperation of American, Soviet, and Allied armed forces during World War II, this marker symbolizes the link up of Soviet and American elements at the Elbe River on 25 April 1945. In tribute to the battle against tyranny.".