A snapshot of China's Sept. 3 V-Day Parade. (Xinhua Photo)
BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- It was "a shame" that major Western leaders did not attend China's Sept. 3 commemorations marking the 70th anniversary of the victory of China's counter-Japanese war and the world's anti-Fascist war, says a Russian political pundit.
In a recent interview with TV network RT, Dmitry Babich said there seems to be "a certain policy" among Western leaders that they do not show up for events that serve to unite the planet, including the Sochi Olympics, the European Games in Baku, Moscow's May 9 celebrations and Beijing's WWII victory parade.
"The Western world is missing" while dozens of foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, attended the Sept. 3 event at Tian'anmen Square, noted Babich.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and distinguished guests walk to the Tian'anmen Rostrum ahead of the V-Day Parade. (Xinhua Photo)
"They say they don't want to participate in something that they call militaristic. But let's remember, China suffered tremendously during WWII. ... And the Japanese aggressors were driven out of China, not by prayers, but by tanks, artillery, soldiers," he said.
"So I think that the Chinese have the right to have a parade on this day. And this is the first parade that they have had in 70 years to commemorate this day," he added.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, all of China's previous parades were held to celebrate the Oct. 1 National Day.
"It is a rare event, and it is a shame that the Western leaders didn't come, because we were all allies -- the Americans, the British, the Chinese, the Russians -- in fighting the German Nazis and the Japanese nationalists during WWII," said Babich.
A snapshot of China's Sept. 3 V-Day Parade. (Xinhua Photo)
"The Japanese behaved roughly in the same way as Germans in Asia during this war, and we defeated them together. In China this war is called The Great Anti-Fascist War. I love the name -- it reflects what happened then very clearly," he added.
As to the mentality of those missing Western leaders, Babich cited President Putin as saying that "it looks like the Western world is losing its dominant role in global affairs and it's desperately trying to keep the power, the power that is slipping away."
"Sometimes the Western leaders get sort of nervous and they make these moral mistakes. I think what happened today when the Western leaders didn't show up for this parade -- it is moral mistake," he added.
