Inviting Putin a bad idea, says Austrevicius

Lithuania’s Deputy Parliament Speaker, liberal Petras Austrevicius, has said that the decision to invite the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, to attend the commemoration ceremony of the Allied landing in Normandy during the Second World War was a mistake, reports ELTA.

"I think it is a huge political mistake to invite Russia to attend the commemoration ceremony of the Allied landing in Normandy on June 6. Putin is continuing the war in Ukraine and it is incomprehensible and immature to invite the initiator of the ongoing war. Without making profound conclusions we allow the policies which are unfortunately carried out by the Russian Federation to continue," said Austrevicius.

President of France, Francois Hollande, was in favor for Putin to take part in the ceremony. According to the latest media reports, Hollande has invited Putin to visit the Elysee Palace.

The Kremlin reported that on June 5, one day prior to the ceremony, a bilateral meeting between Putin and Hollande will take place. It will be the first meeting of the Russian president with a head of state of the West after Russia annexed Crimea.