RAKOVIĆ: GOING TO MOSCOW ON MAY 9 IS A MATTER OF ATTITUDE TOWARD HISTORY

BELGRADE, APRIL 16 /SRNA/ - Going to Moscow for the Victory Day commemoration on May 9 is a matter of dignity and attitude toward history, historian Aleksandar Raković told SRNA.

Commenting on messages from Brussels advising against attending the Victory Day celebration in Moscow and the attempt to organize a parallel event in Kyiv, Raković emphasized that it is meaningless to commemorate anything in Kyiv, and reminded that May 9 has always been celebrated in Moscow. He says it is absurd to exclude the main victor of the Second World War from the Victory Day commemoration just because Brussels now sees Russia as an enemy. "You cannot simply transfer something mechanically to another location. The Russians entered Berlin and put an end to Nazi Germany, and now, because of the current situation, they want to avoid Moscow, but that is impossible," Raković said. He believes that Serbian leaders would lose the support of the Serbian people if they do not attend the May 9 celebration in Moscow. "Our leaders - especially President /of Serbia/ Aleksandar Vučić - must be in Moscow on May 9, otherwise they will lose the support of the Serbian people, because whether or not they go to Moscow is a matter of dignity and of their attitude toward history," Raković concluded. The British Telegraph reported that the EU could ban Serbia from joining if its President Aleksandar Vučić travels to Russia for the Victory Day Parade on May 9, which he was invited to by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said that it was clearly communicated at the EU Foreign Affairs Council that member states or any candidate countries should not participate in the May 9 celebration in Moscow.