Russia is outraged over being excluded from Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral service, calling the snub “profoundly immoral.”
“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,” Kremlin spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said. “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.”
Citing Russia’s history of supporting the British monarchy, Zakharova said the Queen would not have supported such a decision.
“[The British army] fought against the Nazis and their Ukrainian collaborators Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevich,” she said. “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.”
Rubbing salt in the wound, Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska will attend Monday’s funeral service, according to The Sun.
The Chinese government has also been invited to send a representative, despite criticism over human rights abuses of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang province. Beijing sanctioned seven British legislators last year over their stance on China, which resulted in the ban of the Chinese ambassador to the U.K. from Parliament.
It is believed Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan will attend the Queen’s services in place of President Xi Jinping, who is currently meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Uzbekistan, the Daily Mail reported.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will attend on Monday and will be the only American representatives. However, all living former U.S. presidents have been invited to a separate memorial service in Washington, D.C.
Trump one of five former living US presidents invited to DC memorial service for Queen Elizabeth II https://t.co/kJtihvwSvo pic.twitter.com/JV32nq04tk
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) September 16, 2022
Among those believed to attend, according to the BBC:
President Michael D. Higgins and Taoiseach Micheál Martin of Ireland, President Emmanuel Macron of France, President Alexander Van der Bellen of Austria, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany, President Sergio Mattarella of Italy, President Isaac Herzog of Israel, President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, President Sauli Niinistö of Finland, President Hage Geingob of Namibia, President Yoon Suk-Yeol of South Korea, President Katalin Novak of Hungary, President Egils Levits of Latvia, President Andrzej Duda of Poland, President Gitanas Nauseda of Lithuania and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, long the subject of international sanctions over its nuclear programme, will be represented only at ambassadorial level,” Whitehall sources told the BBC.
The Queen’s coffin is currently lying in state at the Palace of Westminster, with a procession to begin at 10:44 a.m. BST to Westminster Abbey, according to a report released by Buckingham Palace.
Viewers in the states can watch the procession uninterrupted on BBC America beginning at 4:00 a.m. EST.
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