Russia invites S. Korean leader to Moscow for war victory commemoration - ambassador

MOSCOW, February 9. /TASS/. Russia has invited South Korea’s president to Moscow to attend May ceremonies marking 70 years since Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, ambassador to Seoul Alexander Timonin said on Monday. Anniversary of victory in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War, as the four-year battle between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany is known, "is the most significant social and political event, whose international importance can hardly be overestimated", Timonin told TASS. "Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited South Korean President Park Geun-hye to attend the May 9 celebrations," he said, adding that meetings between leaders of both countries had traditionally played an important role in promoting bilateral co-operation. "Last year, the leaders met twice," Timonin said, recalling the presidents’ talks on sidelines of November's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Beijing, China, and the G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia. Moscow has invited many global leaders - including the leaders of North Korea and China - to commemorations featuring a Red Square parade. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has already given a positive response to the Kremlin’s invitation. Kim’s trip to Moscow will be his first foreign visit since taking power from his late father, Kim Jong Il, as the country's leader in 2011. Read more