Estonian Defense Minister Juri Luik has warned the country's president, Kersti Kaljulaid, against visiting Moscow for the annual Victory Day Parade on May 9 due to the Russian rhetoric regarding World War II
HELSINKI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th February, 2020) Estonian Defense Minister Juri Luik has warned the country's president, Kersti Kaljulaid, against visiting Moscow for the annual Victory Day Parade on May 9 due to the Russian rhetoric regarding World War II.
"I do not recommend [the president to visit Moscow on Victory Day], especially given the current situation. The Russian Foreign Ministry made statements on the succession of Estonia's history, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and Poland and the Czech Republic. In this context, being the guest of honor at the parade gives a completely wrong signal [which may show that] we indirectly support the Russian rhetoric," Luik told the Sakala newspaper in an interview.
Russia, the Baltic states and Poland have been bogged down in a disagreement on the causes of World War II after the European Parliament passed a resolution in September stating that the 1939 non-aggression treaty signed by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany led to the start of the war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin vehemently rejected the claims, stating that the Soviet Union was not the only country to have signed a deal with Nazi Germany. Speaking at the annual extended meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry's board in December, Putin cited archival documents that suggest that Polish Ambassador to Germany Jozef Lipski met with leading Nazi officials in 1938 to discuss Germany's plan to expel Jews to Africa.
