BERLIN—German Chancellor Angela Merkel has declined an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend a military parade in Moscow marking the 70th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis, officials said Wednesday, citing tensions over Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
Merkel’s spokesman said the German leader instead proposed taking part in a memorial and wreath-laying ceremony in Moscow on May 10, which Putin accepted.
“The chancellor wants to commemorate the end of World War II and the liberation from National Socialism appropriately and with dignity,” Steffen Seibert told reporters in Berlin. “In view of the Russian actions in Crimea and eastern Ukraine …read more
Source: The Epoch Times
