PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk hit out at leaders and others who attended Moscow’s Victory Day parade on Friday.
Tusk said the presence of world leaders and other officials, and their applause for Russian President Vladimir Putin after his speech about a so-called Nazi purge in Ukraine was “a disgrace.” Those attending, he said, were “refusing to see the truth.”
More than 20 international leaders including Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić joined the celebrations led by Putin on Red Square, drawing criticism from EU officials. The Chinese President Xi Jinping also attended the celebrations amid high security in Moscow.
The Russian president welcomed both Fico and Vučić at the Kremlin shortly before the military parade started.
While both Macron and Tusk held back from singling out European leaders at the parade, it was clear who their criticism was aimed at.
“I’m not sure that [attending the parade] was the best thing to do on May 9 and not the best reading of the 21st century,” said Macron.
Tusk also said that the celebration of soldiers who would then go and “bomb towns, schools and hospitals” in Ukraine was “a disgrace.”
Macron and Tusk were in the French city of Nancy to sign a bilateral treaty, aimed at reinforcing defense and security cooperation between the two countries. The treaty includes a mutual defense pledge in case of an attack from an aggressor, strengthening ties between allies in the wake of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The French president also pushed back at those who tried to oppose Moscow and Brussels as two forces pushing for hegemony in Europe. Several Western ministers and top diplomats — including EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy — traveled to Ukraine on Friday to honor the victims of Russian aggression.
“Many compare Moscow and Brussels, I’ve heard that … But Moscow is a capital that has been imposed whereas Brussels is a capital that has been freely chosen through our treaties,” said Macron.
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