China’s Xi accepts invitation to attend Moscow’s Victory Day in May, Tass reports
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Chinese President Xi Jinping invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to China for the country’s commemoration of the end of World War II.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MOSCOW – Chinese President Xi Jinping has accepted Russia’s invitation to attend the commemorations of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, Tass state news agency reported on Feb 10.
“Chinese President Xi Jinping has accepted an invitation to take part in the celebrations on May 9 in Moscow on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War,” Tass cited Russian ambassador to China, Mr Igor Morgulov, as telling Russian state television.
The Kremlin said in December that it had invited “many countries” to attend the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, which Russians call the “Great Patriotic War”.
The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in World War II, including many millions in Ukraine, but eventually pushed Nazi forces back to Berlin, where Adolf Hitler committed suicide and the red Soviet Victory Banner was raised over the Reichstag in 1945.
Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender came into force at 11.01pm on May 8, 1945, marked as “Victory in Europe Day” by France, Britain and the US. In Moscow, it was already May 9, which became the Soviet Union’s “Victory Day” in what Russians call the Great Patriotic War of 1941 to 1945.
Victory Day has become Russia’s most important secular holiday.
Mr Morgulov said that Mr Xi, in return, invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to China for the country’s commemoration of the end of World War II, which is planned for September. REUTERS
