KRAKOW, Poland, April 14 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama will attend the funeral of his Polish counterpart Lech Kaczynski, who died in a plane crash last Saturday.
The presidents of France and Russia, Nicolas Sarkozy and Dmitry Medvedev, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are also to attend Sunday's funeral in Krakow, BBC News reports. Kaczynski and his wife Maria will be laid to rest in the medieval Wawel Cathedral, where Polish royals are buried.
The first couple died in a plane crash near the Russian city of Smolensk Saturday in which 94 other people were killed. The victims included politicians, military leaders, church officials, the country's national bank chief, the head of Poland's Olympic Committee and relatives of those killed in the World War II Katyn massacre. Kaczynski and his party were to attend a memorial ceremony for the 20,000 Polish slain by Stalin's forces in 1940.
When the 26-year-old Tupolev Tu-154 airliner tried to land in Smolensk despite thick fog, it crashed and burned, killing everyone on board.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin heads an investigation into the crash. Initial reports suggest a pilot error.
New presidential elections are expected in May or June.
