Chinese President Xi Jinping accepted an invitation to attend Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on May 9, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Kremlin said Monday.
“Such contacts and visits are being prepared, and we attach great mutual importance to the symbolism of these dates,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“They serve as a reminder of key historical events, our countries’ contributions to the fight against Nazism and the state of our bilateral relations. These engagements are currently being actively arranged,” Peskov added.
Earlier, Russia’s Ambassador to China, Igor Morgulov, told state broadcaster Russia 24 that Xi would visit Moscow for Victory Day celebrations. He said Xi had also invited President Vladimir Putin to China in early September, when Beijing will hold its own events marking the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II.
Xi last visited Moscow in March 2023 for a three-day trip at Putin’s invitation.
Besides Xi, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have also expressed plans to attend Victory Day 2025 celebrations.
Peskov said in October that “many heads of state and government” had been invited to the annual military parade. “Everyone who comes will be welcome in Moscow,” he told reporters at the time.
No foreign leaders attended Moscow’s Victory Day parade in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, the following year saw the leaders of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in attendance.
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