Israeli President Reuven Rivlin will not be attending Victory Day celebrations in Moscow this May, his press secretary reportedly said Wednesday.
"Unfortunately, the president will not be able to attend" spokesperson Jason Pearlman told the RIA Novosti news agency, without providing any further details.
Rivlin's snub is particularly significant given that the Soviet army played a key role in liberating the Nazi death camp Auschwitz, where hundreds of thousands of Jews were murdered during World War II.
But he is not the only one to disregard this year's celebrations, which will mark the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany.
U.S. leader Barack Obama, Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski and the leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania all reportedly feature on a list of those who have declined to attend.
The invitations were accepted by the leaders of China, Vietnam and North Korea.
Moscow also expects to see new Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras at the Victory Day celebrations, as Athens has traditionally sent a representative to the annual event, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was cited as saying Wednesday by RIA.
