“Deeply Immoral”
Kremlin angry over Queen’s funeral ban
09/16/2022, 5:14 am
When the British Queen is laid to rest on Monday, state guests from all over the world are expected to attend the funeral service. But not everyone is welcome: in addition to North Korea and Myanmar, Russia has not received an invitation either. The Kremlin reacted bitterly.
Moscow has complained about London’s “immoral” and “blasphemous” decision not to invite a representative of Russia to the funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II. The British government is trying to “use the national tragedy that has touched the hearts of millions of people around the world” for “geopolitical purposes, to settle scores with our country,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova .
Zakharova criticized this attempt as “deeply immoral” and “blasphemous” because it would damage the memory of Elizabeth II. She accused London of using the Russian military operation in Ukraine as a “pretext” to exclude Russia from the funeral service.
Elizabeth II died last Thursday at the age of 96 at her Scottish residence in Balmoral. The funeral service for the Queen with state guests from all over the world will take place on Monday in Westminster Abbey. Invited guests include more than a hundred queens, kings and other heads of state. Russia, Belarus, North Korea and Myanmar did not receive an invitation.
Relations between Russia and Great Britain have been extremely strained for years. The poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England in 2018 caused tensions.