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Putin defends not inviting neighbours to Kaliningrad celebrations
Jul 3, 2005, 13:42 GMT
Kaliningrad - Russian President Vladimir Putin defended Sunday his decision not to invite the leaders of neighbouring Poland and Lithuania to the 750th anniversary celebrations of the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
Kaliningrad, formerly known as Koenigsberg, is a small sliver of territory on the Baltic Sea, surrounded by Poland and Lithuania, with almost one million people, almost all of whom are Russians. The region was taken over by the Soviet Union after Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II.
The celebrations are an internal Russian affair, Putin said after meeting with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac in Svetlogorsk on the Baltic.
Schroeder and Chirac did not comment on the Russian decision not to invite the Polish and Lithuanian leaders to the celebrations.
© dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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