Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to Paris for celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, a source in French President Emmanuel Macron’s administration told TASS on Tuesday.
"President Putin has been invited to Paris for celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I alongside the leaders of 80 other states," the source said, adding that the celebrations would take place on November 11.
Macron said earlier that he planned to invite the leaders of countries that were involved in World War I to the Paris celebrations. According to him, on this occasion, a forum will take place involving heads of states, prime ministers and international organizations officials who will discuss initiatives aimed at easing global tensions. The event is scheduled to be held in Paris on November 11-13.
World War I, which lasted from 1914 to 1918, proved to be one of the largest-scale armed conflicts in history. France and Russia were allies in the war, Russia many times came to France’s rescue. In 1916, the Russian Expeditionary Corps was deployed to the Western Front at the request of Russia’s allies.
The war claimed the lives of 18.6 mln people. An agreement, which put an end to hostilities, was signed in the railway carriage of Supreme Allied Commander Marshal Ferdinand Foch in the Forest of Compiegne, 80 kilometers north of Paris, on November 11, 1918. Since then, France has been celebrating the anniversary of the end of World War I on November 11.
