Czech representatives will not attend Putin's "inauguration"

The Czech Republic and Estonia have confirmed that their representatives will not attend the so-called inauguration of Russian aggressor Vladimir Putin on May 7. The absence of a Czech representative at the ceremony was announced by Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky on the Nova TV channel.

According to him, the current relations between the Czech Republic and Russia are "not suitable" for the participation of a Czech representative in the inauguration.

In a comment to local media, including ERR, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tahkna also confirmed the absence of an Estonian representative at Putin's May 7 performance.

"Estonia cannot legitimize diplomatic relations with the aggressor state, and we have decided not to attend Putin's inauguration ceremony," said Tskahkna.

He noted that the country considers it "unthinkable" to participate in ceremonies that perpetuate the rule of Putin, who is waging an aggressive war in Ukraine and conducting hybrid attacks on EU and NATO members.

He condemned Putin's regime and noted that the elections in Russia in March "were neither democratic nor open, nor fair," so the inauguration was "just a play staged by Putin."

Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže also wrote to X that the country's representative would not attend the ceremony in Russia. "Representatives of the Latvian embassy will not attend the inauguration of the head of the aggressor state, which attacks everything we stand for," she said. Braže reminded that Putin is being prosecuted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 05/05/2024