Agency Report –
German and French diplomats held a low-key event in Moscow to commemorate the Soviet Union’s contribution to the Allied victory over Nazi Germany, 80 years after the end of World War II.
During the evening event, which featured a piano concert in a small, inconspicuous venue, German ambassador to Moscow Alexander Graf Lambsdorff acknowledged the Soviet Union’s sacrifices in the war.
He also criticized the portrayal of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine as a continuation of the anti-Nazi fight, calling it an insult to the legacy of Soviet soldiers. He emphasized that honouring their memory should mean working towards peace, not fuelling new suffering.
The French ambassador to Moscow, Nicolas de Rivière, said that the post-war reconciliation between France and Germany demonstrated how peace between former enemies was possible.
Most EU ambassadors, including those from Germany and France, stayed away from the official Kremlin-organized Victory Day celebrations on May 9.
Russian officials were not invited to the German state-level commemorations marking the war’s end due to unease over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
