Vladimir Putin will not be attending a Holocaust memorial event in Auschwitz, Poland later this month, the Russian government has confirmed.
A Kremlin spokesperson said on Tuesday that the president will be absent from the ceremony, which will take place on January 27 at the site of the death camp to mark the 70th anniversary of its liberation and the end of the Holocaust, because he has not been invited.
But according to Pawel Sawicki, chief spokesperson for the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, no formal invitations were sent out to any political leaders.
“What we did was send notice to the embassies of all European Union nations as well as to the countries that have contributed to the museum, which includes Russia, asking how many people they would be sending and who would be the head of their delegation,” he said.
News of Mr Putin’s absence highlights the ongoing tension between Russia and the West over the continued conflict in Ukraine, especially since it was Soviet troops who liberated Auschwitz in 1945. Mr Putin attended the 60th anniversary of the camp’s liberation 10 years ago.
But Poland has been particularly critical of Russia’s expansion into Ukraine, and has called on foreign leaders to issue more sanctions against Mr Putin’s government.
More than 3,000 people will travel to Auschwitz later this month, including 300 survivors and dozens of foreign leaders and royal family members. Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski will open the ceremony.
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