Kremlin aide says Putin plans to accept invitation to visit Paris on November 11

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to visit Paris on November 11 to attend celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, the details of the visit will be discussed with France in the near future, Kremlin Aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

"As for November 11, an invitation has been received and we are currently intend to accept it, a need will clearly arise soon to discuss specific aspects of the visit with France," Ushakov said when asked whether Putin planned to visit France on November 11. "It means that we plan to attend this event," the Russian presidential aide stressed.
Paris celebrations

According to earlier reports, France invited 80 foreign leaders, including Putin, to attend the Paris celebrations.

World War I, which lasted from 1914 to 1918, proved to be one of the largest-scale armed conflicts in history. France and Russia were allies in the war, Russia many times came to France’s rescue. In 1916, the Russian Expeditionary Corps was deployed to the Western Front at the request of Russia’s allies.

The war claimed the lives of 18.6 mln people. An agreement, which put an end to hostilities, was signed in the railway carriage of Supreme Allied Commander Marshal Ferdinand Foch in the Forest of Compiegne, 80 kilometers north of Paris, on November 11, 1918. Since then, France has been celebrating the anniversary of the end of World War I on November 11.