President Rosen Plevneliev will not attend the May 9 celebrations in Moscow marking the allies' victory over Nazi Germany during World War Two.

The Bulgarian head of state's press office confirmed this following reports in Russian news website that President Plevneliev has declined an invitation.

A similar position has already been adopted by US President Barack Obama, UK PM David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, EU Council President Donald Tusk, and the Presidents of Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Their decision is often interpreted as a clear message referring to the developments in Ukraine.

In the past year Plevneliev has often produced statements interpreted by Moscow as a clear sign of "Russophobia".

His comments of "Russian aggression" in an interview with the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung were sharply rebuked in September 2014, and a number of Russian politicians subsequently warned against adopting a harder tone on Moscow.

An article run on the website of Moskovskiy Komsomolets about his refusal to attend the May 9 parade begins with the title: "You too, Brutus?", recalling Bulgaria's usually friendly relations with Russia.

The paper speculates on whether Bulgaria adopted the decision at the behest of Brussels, adding that Russian officials were not invited to commemorate Bulgaria's liberation day on March 3 for the first time in decades.

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