The authorities in Moscow announced today that the newly elected President of the United States of America (USA) Donald Trump did not invite the President of Russia Vladimir Putin to his inauguration, scheduled for January 20, 2025, writes the Moscow Times.
"No," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when they asked him if Trump had sent an invitation to Putin to attend the handover ceremony at the Capitol in Washington.
The Moscow Times points out that no foreign leader has ever attended the inauguration of an American president, and that this honor is usually reserved for ambassadors and other diplomats.
However, the American TV network CBS reported yesterday that Trump invited the first man of China, Xi Jinping, to the inauguration, shortly after he defeated Kamala Harris in the US presidential election on November 5.
The TV network, citing anonymous sources, said it was not known whether Xi had accepted Trump's invitation.
Trump's team reportedly considered hosting other foreign leaders, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is "still considering" his attendance at the inauguration.
The Washington Post previously reported that Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin by phone immediately after the announcement of the election results, but Peskov denied that the conversation ever took place.
Putin limited his world travels after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for him in 2023 and ordered his arrest for deporting Ukrainian children during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Neither Russia nor the US are members of the International Criminal Court's statute and do not recognize the jurisdiction of the court, based in The Hague, Netherlands.
Bonus video:
