Czech President changed his mind about participating in the Moscow parade on May 9

Czech President Milos Zeman still intends to visit Moscow on May 9, on the day of the 70th anniversary of Victory over Germany, but will not take part in the parade on Red Square. According to RBC, this was stated by the press secretary of the head of the Czech state of Irji Shepherk.

Instead of participating in the parade, the official explained, Zeman will negotiate with the Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fitzo.

“The current decision has no connection with the criticism that sounded in the last days,” she assured the shepherd.

Meanwhile, the press service of Fitzo could not quickly confirm the publication whether the prime minister on May 9 plans a visit to Moscow.

On March 29, Zeman said that he intends to arrive in Moscow precisely to participate in the anniversary celebrations . “It was impossible to defeat Hitler without the Soviet Union,” said the Czech President. “The price for this is 20 million dead Soviet citizens (this very understated figure was generally recognized in the official historiography of the late Soviet period. - Ed.).”

Meanwhile, a number of leaders abandoned the visit to Moscow on May 9. Among them are German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Ministers David Cameron and Japan Shinzo Abe, Chairman of the European Council and ex-Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk, Polish Presidents Bronislav Komorovsky, Lithuania Dalya Grigauskaite, Latvia Andris Berzins, Estonia Hendrick Ilves, Bolgaria, Bolgaria Rosen Plevneliev. The United States at the celebrations will be represented by Ambassador to Moscow John Tefft.

In March, the American ambassador in Prague, Andrew Shapiro, said that the presence of Zeman at the parade on May 9 in Moscow will discredit the position of the West on the issue of Russian aggression in Ukraine. Zeman reacted abruptly, saying that he was closing for the Shapiro door of his residence. “I can’t imagine that the Czech ambassador to Washington advised the American president where he went,” he said.

Zeman is known for his pro -Russian views. So, in April 2014, he urged the EU to come to terms with the annexation of Crimea. He also spoke in support of the "federalization" of Ukraine.

On November 17, 2014, participants in the festive rally in Prague on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the velvet revolution booed Zeman and threw it into eggs . Among the banners who held the banners were the following: "We are ashamed of our president" and "We do not want to become a colony of Russia."