Ukraine welcomes Bundestag's decision not to invite Russian and Belarusian ambassadors to solemn session

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, has welcomed the Bundestag’s decision not to invite the Russian and Belarusian ambassadors to a special session on 8 May commemorating the end of World War II in 1945.

Source: European Pravda, citing German news channel n-tv

Details: Makeiev welcomed the Bundestag's decision to exclude representatives of Russia and Belarus from the parliamentary events marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and liberation from Nazism, set to take place on 8 May in Berlin.

"This underscores the consistent position of the German Bundestag and the federal government towards representatives of criminal regimes," Makeiev said.

"8 May is a day of reconciliation with the past to prevent new wars, not the denial of history to justify them," he added.

Background: 

• The Bundestag had earlier announced that the entire diplomatic corps in Berlin, including all ambassadors, had been invited to the commemorative events. However, the representatives of Russia and Belarus were excluded from the invitation.
• The parliamentary administration cited a recommendation from the Federal Foreign Office as the basis for this decision.
• Notably, on 16 April, the Russian and Belarusian ambassadors to Berlin, Sergei Nechayev and Andrei Shuplyak, took part in a silent commemoration for those killed during the Battle of the Seelow Heights, despite the recommendation not to invite them.

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