Uzbekistan President to Skip WWII Parade in Russia

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev will not take part in events dedicated to 9 May in Moscow. Instead of traveling to the Russian capital, he visited Tashkent’s Park of Victory on May 8 and laid flowers at the “Ode of Steadfastness” monument.

The press service of the President of Uzbekistan said that Shavkat Mirziyoyev will also meet participants of the Second World War and veterans of the labor front. The events will be held as part of the Day of Remembrance and Honor, which is observed in the country.

In the list of foreign delegations published by the Kremlin, leaders of Central Asian countries were not included. Expected participants include presidents of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Belarus, as well as representatives of Laos, Malaysia, Slovakia, and the Republika Srpska.

According to Russian sources, this will be the first May 9 parade in Moscow without participation of Central Asian heads of state since 2018.

Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said: “We did not specifically invite foreign guests for the celebration this year, as we did last year,” according to RIA Novosti.

This year’s parade on Red Square will reportedly be held without military equipment for the first time in many years. Russia’s Ministry of Defence explained the decision by the operational situation. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov linked the move to a terrorist threat.