Lithuania will not allow politicians from Slovakia and Serbia to cross its airspace on their way to Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, sources told BNS on Wednesday.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico are the only European leaders who plan to attend the May 9 event in the Russian capital. Fico defied warnings from Brussels not to do so.

BNS sources report that Serbia, which is not an EU member state, requires permission to enter and cross Lithuanian airspace, and Lithuanian authorities are saying no.

Slovakia is an EU member state with an annually renewed permit to cross Lithuanian airspace, and that means that it does not require additional approval. The flight plan and other travel details must be co-ordinated with the authorities in Lithuania, however, and they have already said that they have no intention of accepting the plans.

Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry, Defence Ministry and other relevant authorities declined to comment on the situation when contacted by BNS.

The Kremlin claims that 29 foreign leaders will attend the May 9 parade in Moscow, among them Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

World War II ended in  Europe on May 8, when Germany signed an unconditional surrender in 1945. The date is now recognised in many nations as that of the Allied victory.

Russia and several other former Soviet republics observe Victory Day a day later, on May 9.

Source: BNS

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