Vladimir Putin is not on the guest list, but Russian representatives have been invited to take part in WWII anniversary ceremony.

France’s decision to invite Russia to attend the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings has stoked tensions with allied nations as leaders prepare to gather on the Normandy beaches on June 6.

Last month, Paris caught Western countries off guard when D-Day organizers announced they were extending an invitation to Moscow even as Russia launches a fresh offensive on Ukraine. Officials from the United Kingdom and two other World War II allies expressed concerns over the move, raising questions ranging from the symbolic nature of the occasion, protocol issues and queries about diplomatic engagement with Russian representatives.

A U.K. government official said that France’s actions — not only the D-Day invitation but also hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping this month and sending a representative to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration — were “disturbing.”

  • SuddenDownpour
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    7 months ago

    To a lot of people the US and the EU have often been the devil man that Russia is today

    Currently are. The average person of the average Arab country right now probably has a worse opinion of the US than they have of Russia, and for good reason. The post-colonial status of France in plenty of countries in West Africa also make a sizable amount of people there hostile to France, even if the situation is more nuanced. Personally, I’m not a fan of any empire.

    • mozz@mbin.grits.dev
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      7 months ago

      Yeah.

      Russia invades Ukraine and bombs apartment buildings, it’s like hey WTF those are perfectly innocent people

      Israel turns the whole of Gaza into a wasteland of corpses and famine and it’s like well of course, they’re seeing to their security situation, as any country would, here’s some bombs my loving brother

      I don’t think Israel should be allowed at the Olympics either, FWIW