Sunshine on Demand

Leaders all over the world joined yesterday the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and the American one, George W. Bush, in the Red Square, in Moscow, to celebrate the 60th victory over Nazism. The military parade was the focal point of the event, with over 10,000 military and veterans taking part in it.

Romania’s delegation was headed by President Traian Basescu and was hosted at The President Hotel, in Moscow. Former King Michael I was also part of the official delegation. The security was tight for this venue, since the hotel also hosted the presidents of Israel, Moshe Katsav, of Poland, Aleksandr Kwasniewski, and of Slovakia, Ivan Gasparovic.
Yesterday, Moscow was a forbidden city. The authorities asked the local population to take a short vacation outside the city, in order to avoid traffic gems.

No local people but a lot of banners reminding of the Soviet era symbols and the glory of the Soviet army were to be seen all over the city.
Before the start of the parade, Basescu changed a few words with French President Jacques Chirac and German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. And before the reception Putin offered for the heads of state and government, Basescu had a 15-minute talk with Bush. After that Basescu had a brief conversation with the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan. When the ceremonies ended Basescu met the presidents of Switzerland and China, the prime-minister of India and the General Governor of Canada.

The reaction of the official delegations during the parade was muted, as it was when Bush arrived to take his seat. Chirac, however, got a warm welcome, his arrival being met with applause. The Russians also managed to get sunshine on demand, for the festive day, since they used anti-rain rockets to disperse the clouds.

The war veterans in Republic of Moldova chose to celebrate their victory at home, and so did President Vladimir Voronin, who skipped the festive meeting in Moscow, along the leaders of Lithuania, Estonia and Georgia. The presidents of the former Soviet Baltic States asked Putin to apologize for the fact that the end of the Nazism meant for their countries the beginning of the communist dictatorship and Soviet oppression.

Former King Michael I is the only head of state taking part in the events 60 years ago to have attended the ceremonies in Moscow. Putin awarded him the special medal for the event. Michael I was one of the seven leaders to receive 60 years ago the Order Victory from the USSR. The former king admitted that on May 9, 1945, he felt a great relief, "as when indeed something gets closure."