Kremlin says decision to ban Vladimir Putin from Queen’s funeral is ‘profoundly immoral’ – and repeats praise of the ‘war hero’ monarch who ‘kept out of politics’
- Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned the Putin snub
- She accused British officials of ‘taking advantage of a national tragedy’
- World leaders are expected to arrive in the coming days for Monday’s funeral
- Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska is expected to attend the Queen’s funeral
- The Queen’s funeral: All the latest Royal Family news and coverage
Russia has slammed a decision not to invite any Russian officials to Queen Elizabeth’s funeral as ‘profoundly immoral’, Kremlin officials have said.
The Kremlin’s spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said Russia still forwarded her sympathy to the British people despite the snub.
In a statement released to the Tass news agency, Ms Zakharova said: ‘The British Foreign Office informed the Russian embassy in London of its decision to refrain from inviting Russia, including senior embassy officials, to attend mourning ceremonies following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.’
Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, pictured, has condemned Britain for banning Vladimir Putin from the Queen’s funeral on Monday
President Vladimir Putin has been banned from Monday’s funeral, although President Xi of China, left, has been invited or can send a representative to London in his place
Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, pictured here earlier this week during a plenary session of the European Parliament sitting in Strasbourg is expected to come to London to attend the funeral
She continued: ‘We believe that the UK’s attempt to take advantage of a national tragedy that touched the hearts of millions of people around the world in order to settle scores with us during the days of mourning is deeply immoral.’
Ms Zakharova said the decision to block Russians from the funeral was ‘particularly cynical’ because of the role played by the Queen during the Second World War.
She said the British army ‘fought against the Nazis and their Ukrainian collaborators Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevich.
‘And now, British elites are on their side. However, Moscow continues to honor the memory of all veterans who contributed to the Victory.
‘The unifying image of Queen Elizabeth II, who has not interfered with politics as a matter of principle during her reign, has not become an obstacle to London’s dissenting attacks, which are subject to accomplishing their own conjectural objectives.
‘For our part, we express our profound condolences to the British people for the great loss than befell them.’
According to The Sun, Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska will be among mourners at Monday’s funeral.
Though, the Government have been criticised for inviting the Chinese government to send a representative to the funeral given the human rights abuses of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang province in the far west of the country.
Tory MP Tim Loughton last night told the BBC that Britain ‘can’t possibly have official representatives of the Chinese government attending such an important occasion’.
The Chinese ambassador to the U.K. is banned from Parliament after Beijing sanctioned seven British legislators last year over their stance on China.
It is not clear whether President Xi Jinping, currently meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Uzbekistan, will attend Monday’s state funeral. Media reports suggest Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan may attend.
Russia, Belarus and Myanmar were not included in the funeral invitation list.
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