Over a third decline invitation: Who’s skipping Putin’s May 9 Parade
Photo: Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin (illustration/Getty Images)
More than a third of Russia's allies have refused to come to Moscow for the parade under various pretexts. It will be held on May 9, according to the Russian media.
Thus, despite the invitation, some countries refused to attend at all, while others limited their delegations to low-level ones.
For example, the leaders of Pakistan and India will be absent due to the escalating military conflict between these countries.
Pakistan completely ignored the parade, while India canceled the already announced visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will send a delegation from the Defense Ministry to Moscow. Modi also canceled his trip to Europe today.
Half of the leaders of the BRICS countries will not attend the parade either. South Africa will send a defense minister, while Iran will limit itself to an ambassador.
Indonesia, which joined the BRICS this year, will also send only its defense minister to the parade. The head of the UAE, which joined the BRICS in 2024, also did not announce his desire to come to Moscow.
And Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will not attend the parade. His administration said that such a visit is not being discussed. Only the Slovakian Prime Minister, Robert Fico, will arrive from the EU.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS
The SCO was established in 2001 as a security alliance in Central and Southeast Asia. The BRICS emerged in 2009 as an economic association of countries of the Global South and positions itself as an alternative to the G7.
These unions, in addition to Russia, include a total of 15 countries: Brazil, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the UAE, Indonesia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
It turns out that 6 out of 15 leaders will not stand next to Putin during the May 9 parade in Moscow.
Parade in Moscow: Who will visit Putin on May 9
On May 9, Vladimir Putin plans to hold a traditional parade in Moscow.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić are expected to be among the guests.
On May 9, Chinese leader Xi Jinping will pay a four-day visit to Russia, which begins on this day. Earlier, the media learned one of the topics of the talks between Putin and Xi Jinping.
