Russian, Belarusian ambassadors not invited to German parliament's WWII memorial event

By Miranda Murray and Andreas Rinke

The German parliament has kept the ambassadors of Russia and Belarus off its guest list for a special sitting on May 8 marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe, a spokesperson for the legislature said on Thursday.

The decision highlights discomfort in Germany over how to address the role of Russia in liberating Europe from Nazi terror during the anniversary year given that President Vladimir Putin has drawn on the legacy of World War Two to justify his invasion of Ukraine.

The Bundestag spokesperson referred to an assessment by the federal government in a statement explaining the move, adding: "This assessment led to the ambassadors of the Russian Federation and Belarus, among others, not being invited. The spokesperson did not detail what the assessment said.

The Russian and Belarusian embassies in Berlin did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.

Representatives of other embassies will join German lawmakers for the event in the Bundestag's plenary chamber that will commemorate the end of the war and with it, the end of Nazi Germany's campaign of violence and genocide in Europe.

Guests from abroad were not invited, the spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for the Ukrainian embassy in Berlin said Ukraine's ambassador would "of course" attend the event and welcomed the Bundestag's decision not to invite the Russian ambassador.

"This was the only correct decision," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

On Wednesday, Russian ambassador Sergey Nechayev attended a commemorative event in the eastern town of Seelow despite a government warning about Moscow's efforts to "instrumentalise" events marking the 80th anniversary.

The commemoration marked the Battle of the Seelow Heights, one of the final battles in the war before the Soviet army's march on Berlin and Germany's capitulation in May 1945. At least 30,000 Soviet soldiers were killed in one of the hardest fought battles for the Red Army, which was made up of Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians among others.

On Wednesday, Russia's state RIA news agency cited Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying the German idea of expelling Russian and Belarusian diplomats from the anniversary events was an insult by the "ideological heirs and direct descendants" of those who carried out Hitler's killings.