BISHKEK (Reuters) – Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov missed a World War Two victory parade in Russia on Wednesday after two people who accompanied him on the flight to Moscow tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival, his office said.
The parade, marking the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany, was postponed from May 9 because of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Jeenbekov had been scheduled to attend alongside several other leaders from former Soviet republics.
Leaders who were absent included Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who told Russian President Vladimir Putin that he would have to mark his birthday in quarantine if he chose to attend.
Jeenbekov’s office did not identify the officials who have tested positive. The Kyrgyz government has said it may have re-tighten restrictions in the country of 6.5 million following a resurgence of COVID-19.
(Reporting by Olga Dzyubenko, Writing by Olzhas Auyezov, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
