Lithuania pays respects to war dead in Moscow

May 8 2016 saw Lithuania's Ambassador to Russia, Remigijus Motuzas, pay his respects to those who died during World War 2 by visiting the Eternal Flame Memorial at the walls of the Kremlin in Moscow.

Motuzas laid a wreath of flowers with the Lithuanian national flag at the Eternal Flame and stood in a minute of silence, the Lithuanian Embassy confirmed.

"The head of the Lithuanian Embassy believes that by visiting and paying tribute to the victims of the war, we express solidarity and lower our heads before the Russian nation, which was badly affected by the war," reads a press release circulated by the embassy.

After paying his respects on Sunday, the ambassador will skip the military parade scheduled to take place in Moscow on May 9 to mark the Russian victory in World War II.

"The ambassador of Lithuania to Russia is the only diplomat of European Union (EU) countries who will not observe the military parade held in the Red Square of the Russian capital on May 9, as Lithuania marks the end of World War II on May 8, not May 9, as the case was during the Soviet rule," the embassy said.

Lithuania's diplomats have skipped the May 9 parade in Red Square since Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014.