"The Soviet Union played a major role in defeating Nazi Germany"
Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Russian President Vladimir Putin should be allowed to attend Friday’s ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the D-Day because the Soviet Union played a major role in defeating Nazi Germany, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday.
France invited Putin to the commemoration marking the anniversary of the assault which began the liberation of the continent from the Nazis.
“Obviously whatever contemporary difficulties we have with the current regime there and they’re obviously immense, I don’t think we want to in any way diminish the Soviet and Russian contribution to the war effort, which was obviously enormous at the time,” Harper said.
Harper said he has no problem with some of his key G7 allies engaging the Russian president in Normandy
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/06/05/stephen_harper_says_putin_should_be_at_dday_ceremonies.html