Putin to join Obama, Merkel at WWII event in France

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By Lionel Laurent PARIS (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Western leaders for the first time since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis when he attends a World War Two anniversary in France next month, the Russian ambassador to Paris said on Thursday. U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are among those due to attend the June 6 ceremony in Normandy to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings that helped turn the tide of the war against Nazi Germany. Ambassador Alexander Orlov confirmed Putin's planned attendance in comments to BFM television, after France's president and defense minister both said the Russian leader - accused by the West of destabilizing neighboring Ukraine - was still welcome to come. \"I have told Vladimir Putin, as representative of the Russian people, that he is welcome to attend the ceremony,\" French President Francois Hollande said.

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