Putin did not congratulate the Presidents of Ukraine and Georgia on Victory Day
Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed congratulations to the presidents of several countries on the occasion of the 72nd anniversary of victory in World War II but not to the leaders of Ukraine and Georgia.
According to the press service of the Kremlin, Putin sent individual congratulations to the presidents of nine countries, as well as the leaders of the breakaway regions of Georgia: Abkhazia and South Ossetia. However, he did not congratulate Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Georgian leader Giorgi Margvelashvili. Instead, he conveyed greetings to the citizens of these countries.
"Vladimir Putin congratulated the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, as well as citizens of Georgia and Ukraine with the 72nd anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War," the message on the Kremlin's website says.
The Russian president in the congratulation expressed his confidence that "the traditions of fraternal friendship and mutual assistance, tempered in the crucible of war, will remain a reliable basis for the development of the allied partnership, the cooperation of these countries in ensuring regional stability and security."
In fact, on previous Victory Day celebrations, Putin never sent congratulations to Poroshenko and Margvelashvili. Presidents of Russia traditionally refuse to congratulate the heads of post-Soviet states with "victory in the Great Patriotic War,” which is an important element of the post-Soviet ideology that Moscow has attacked in the past.
On the website of the Russian president, regular messages about such congratulations began to appear in 2008. That year, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev congratulated the Georgian president for the last time. In 2009, after the war of 2008 against Georgia, there were no congratulations to this country at all.
Since then, congratulations to the de facto leaders of the Georgian separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia appeared which Russia recognized as "independent states" after placing Russian troops on their territory. Since 2010, congratulations from Moscow have been addressed to "citizens of Georgia" only.
Since 2014, after the beginning of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the Kremlin began to use the same wording, "to citizens,” but not to state leaders with regard to Ukraine.