Putin won't attend Auschwitz memorial event in Poland

OSWIENCIM , Poland, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin will not join other world leaders at the Auschwitz, Poland, memorial ceremony honoring the liberation of the death camp.

The camp in southern Poland was liberated by Russian troops in the final days of World War II, and a ceremony noting the 70th anniversary of the event will be conducted Jan. 27. Putin attended a similar ceremony 10 years ago.

Poland sent invitations to foreign governments and not to specific individuals. Although Putin's office said his schedule prevents his attendance, many politicians in Poland believe rising tensions between Putin and the West, as well as Poland's forceful denunciation of Russian involvement in Crimea and Ukraine, are keeping Putin from joining other world leaders.

Putin has often used Russia's role in the war as an emotional rallying point.

His decision not to attend, like his absence at Sunday's demonstration in Paris to show solidarity for freedom of the press after a magazine office was attacked by Islamists, is an example of distancing himself from Western leaders, noted Mikhail Vinogradov of the St. Petersburg Politics Foundation. "He wants to be seen less in the company of Western leaders," Vinogradov told Bloomberg News.

Putin's formal invitation to attend a similar memorial event at Terezin, Czech Republic, later in January, has been met by criticism from the Czech Jewish community.