All CIS heads confirm May 9 Moscow visit

PanARMENIAN.Net - Leaders of all Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries have confirmed their attendance at Moscow's Victory Day events on May 9. This was announced by CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev on April 17 during a meeting of the Interparliamentary Assembly Council.

“I am pleased and satisfied, like you, to announce that the heads of all CIS states will attend the celebrations in Moscow on May 9.”

In his address, Lebedev highlighted that the foreign ministers of CIS countries agree on the need to deepen cooperation across all areas, including politics, socio-economic development, and humanitarian issues. He also emphasized the importance of joint efforts in the field of security.

On April 15, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that over 20 heads of state and government are planning to attend the parade marking the 80th anniversary of the Victory. He said all guests will celebrate this significant day alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to him, May 9 is a “momentous date, especially in the current circumstances.”

Among those who confirmed attendance are Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will also travel to Moscow. Other leaders who announced plans to attend include Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Republika Srpska leader Milorad Dodik, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam, Abkhazian President Badr Gumba, and South Ossetian President Alan Gagloev.

Meanwhile, on April 14, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, said that EU member states and candidate countries should avoid attending the parade. She warned that those participating in the May 9 events in Moscow would face “consequences.”

In response, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin called Kallas a “deranged Russophobe” and accused her of disrespecting the memory of those who sacrificed their lives to defeat fascism. He urged her removal as head of European diplomacy and recommended that she be brought before the United Nations’ international tribunal.