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Kremlin may adjust list of foreign guests invited to Victory Parade on June 24

The parade is set for June 24 with leaders of 12 states having confirmed attendance, according to earlier reports

MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/. The Kremlin may adjust the final list of foreign guests invited to the Victory Parade on Moscow’s Red Square on June 24, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

"The list’s adjustments are possible. We will inform you," the Kremlin spokesman told reporters.

Replying to a question about whether Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko would come to the Victory Parade in Moscow in the wake of his accusations that Moscow was supporting presidential contender Viktor Babariko in Belarus, Peskov recommended reporters to rely on Minsk’s official statements.

"There were statements from the Belarusian side. There shouldn’t be any interpretations. There are statements that simply need to be heard and seen," the Kremlin spokesman said.

Russian Ambassador to Belarus Dmitry Mezentsev said on June 17 that Lukashenko had accepted the invitation to attend the military parade in Moscow on June 24 devoted to the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War.

Russia postponed its military parade traditionally held on Moscow’s Red Square on May 9 for a later date due to the coronavirus pandemic.

At a video conference with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on May 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the anticipated Victory Parade would be held on Moscow’s Red Square on June 24.

The head of state explained he had chosen this date because June 24 was the day when in 1945 the legendary historic parade of victors took place, when soldiers, who fought for Moscow and defended Leningrad, who stood their ground for Stalingrad, liberated Europe and stormed Berlin, marched on Red Square.

The Russian president instructed the defense chief to make sure that there weren’t any risks to the health of the military parade’s participants.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on June 11 that all the invitations the Kremlin had sent out to foreign guests to attend the Victory Parade in Moscow on June 24 remained in force and the leaders of 12 states had confirmed attendance.