MOSCOW (AP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his address to the annual Victory Day parade in Red Square, has said basic principles of international cooperation are increasingly being ignored – an apparent swipe at the United States.
The tightly scripted parade marks the surrender of Nazi Germany and the Red Army’s key role in the defeat. Victory Day is Russia’s most important secular holiday, both commemorating the Soviet Union’s huge suffering in the war and highlighting Russia’s portrayal of itself as a force for peace and security.
In his short speech on Saturday, Putin said that despite the importance of international cooperation, “in the past decades we have seen attempts to create a unipolar world,” a phrase used by Russia to criticize the United States’ purported aim to dominate world affairs.