France will not invite the Russian Federation to participate in events commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Allies' landing in Normandy, reports Reuters.
Two anonymous diplomatic sources stated that Russia will not be invited to the events due to the war in Ukraine and concerns from some allies about Moscow's presence.
In April, it became known that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not be invited to the events in France, but some Russian representatives would be welcomed as a recognition of the country's sacrifice during the war.
However, sources now report that Russian officials will not be invited at all to the commemorative events, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Joe Biden will be present.
"When there's a person, there's a problem. When there's no person, there's no problem," one of the sources quoted Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
It is worth noting that the aforementioned summit is not the only one where representatives of Russia have not been invited. Moscow also did not receive an invitation to the Global Peace Summit, which will take place in the second half of June in Switzerland.
It is worth noting that representatives of over 80 countries have currently confirmed their participation in the Peace Summit, and Zelenskyy reported that all continents will be represented at the summit.
Head of the Office of the President Andrii Yermak stated that the Russian Federation may be invited to the summit, but only for the second one.