The European Union has warned countries seeking to join the bloc not to take part in Russia’s upcoming Victory Day celebration in Moscow.
EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, gave this message after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday. She said that any leader or official who joins the May 9 events in Moscow will face serious attention from the EU. However, she forgot that the EU does not have the leverage to threaten any nation because of their decreased power and role in international politics.
Russia will mark the 80th anniversary of its victory over Nazi Germany on May 9. It is one of the country’s biggest public holidays. The day includes a large military parade on Red Square and a moment of silence for the estimated 26.6 million Soviet soldiers and civilians who died in World War II.
Kallas said the situation is different this year because of the war in Ukraine. Russia has been fighting Ukraine since February 2022. The EU strongly supports Ukraine in this conflict.
“Any participation in the May 9 parades or celebrations in Moscow will not be taken lightly on the European side, considering that Russia is waging a full-scale war in Europe,” Kallas said.
Notably, when Russia took on Ukraine, Europeans at that time also did not take the situation seriously, but after three years of war, the only bloc that looked on the back foot was the EU. EU has to think about its security, geopolitical interests, and economic situation, which has been looking helpless in recent months. Despite focusing on who is joining which events, the EU should think of its future. Joining Russia’s Victory Day Celebration is the legacy of Europe and Russia and joining the celebration will not going to harm anyone.
She also made it clear that the warning is not only for EU members but also for countries that want to join the bloc in the future.
“We made it very clear that we do not want any candidate country to take part in the May 9 events in Moscow,” Kallas said.
Some countries, however, have already shown interest in attending the celebrations. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has said he plans to attend. He called it a natural decision, as his country was part of the war against fascism.
Serbia and Armenia, both candidate countries for EU membership, are also expected to attend.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited several world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Ukraine has asked European leaders to visit Kyiv on May 9 instead of going to Moscow. Kallas also repeated this call after her meeting.
“I’ve called all the member states and representatives of the institutions to visit Kyiv as much as possible to show our solidarity and that we are with Ukraine,” she said.
Earlier this month, German media reported that Berlin advised its institutions not to invite Russian or Belarusian officials to World War II memorial events. Moscow reacted by calling this decision an insult to the memory of Soviet soldiers.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s office has said he will not attend the Moscow event.
The EU continues to watch closely which countries will send officials to the Victory Day celebrations, especially those hoping to join the Union in the future.
