Ambassadors of the European Union and its member states are considering ignoring the parade in Beijing because of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invitation to it. One of the reasons is the possible participation of the Russian military in the event, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post newspaper said.
The parade to commemorate China’s victory in the Japanese-Chinese and World Wars II is scheduled to take place in Tiananmen Square in central Beijing on September 3. A rehearsal on 18 August was attended by 40,000 people, the Renmin Zhibao newspaper reported. Putin will be a guest at the celebrations, the Kremlin previously reported.
Although the participation of the Russian military has not been officially confirmed, European diplomats do not want to appear at the event with the participation of the Russian president, the newspaper said. China will mark the end of World War II with a parade for only the second time, says the South China Morning Post.
The Times reported in July that China may try to organise a meeting between Putin and US President Donald Trump at the parade. This was not officially confirmed, and Trump’s visit to Beijing was not announced.