Lukashenko will not come to the Victory Parade in Moscow - "busy at home"

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko will not attend the Victory Parade in Moscow, he said on Saturday in Minsk. “Employed at home,” he explained, citing the fact that, as commander in chief, he should take a parade in Minsk. At the same time, Lukashenko condemned world leaders who refuse to go to Moscow without good reason.

The President of Belarus and in previous years on May 9 took a parade in Minsk. So, on May 9, 2014, he and his son personally joined the parade of veterans. Against the backdrop of the refusal of most European leaders to visit the celebrations in Moscow in early March, the assistant to the president Yuri Ushakov told RIA Novosti that Lukashenko would be at the parade in the capital of Russia. The Izvestia , informing about the same newspaper, reminded of the “15 years of the Brotherhood between Russia and Belarus in the framework of the Union State”.

However, according to BelTA , on Saturday, Lukashenko announced: "On May 9, we have our own parade as in Moscow. Nobody except the commander in chief can take a parade." Therefore, in the capital of Russia, he will take part in festive events on May 7 and 8, and on May 9 he will fly to Minsk.

At the same time, Lukashenko said: "I do not support those politicians who today ambitiously refuse to come to Moscow celebrations, although they used to promise earlier. It is another matter when you are busy at home." Meanwhile, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov told Gazeta.ru that the Kremlin has not yet known about the decision of the Belarusian leader not to go to Moscow on May 9.

Earlier, the Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, the presidents of the United States, Israel, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, Prime Minister of Great Britain David Cameron, Chairman of the European Council Donald Tusk, Prime Minister Sweden, Stephen Leven, leaders, Finland and Netherlands, refused to go to Moscow. In all cases, it was explained that the refusal of high -ranking representatives to attend the celebrations in Moscow is connected with the position of the Russian Federation in Ukraine.

The head of the Presidential Administration, Sergei Ivanov, reported that preliminary the presence of the Victory Parade confirmed 25 leaders of foreign states and several international organizations. In particular, it is expected to participate in the celebrations of the DPRK leader Kim Jong -un, the head of the Government of Slovakia, the President of Cyprus, the leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Macedonia, Serbia, as well as the presidents of Greece, India, South Africa, Mongolia, Vietnam, and the leaders of Cuba, also confirmed their participation.