KRAKOW (EJP)--- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has declined an invitation by Polish President Lech Kaczyński to attend the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz ceremonies on January 27.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper that although Moscow would definitely send a delegation to the anniversary celebrations, President Medvedev himself would not be attending the event as he would be hosting “foreign guests” at the Kremlin at the same time.

According to Lavrov, the Russian president had planned to tape a video message to the event's participants but due to “technical issues” he has been unable to do so. He promised that Medvedev's speech would be read by a member of the Russian delegation.

Kaczynski’s invitation to his Russian counterpart has been described by the Russian media as an unexpected gesture, since the Polish president is known to be a harsh critic of Russia’s politics.

Polish authorities have invited a series of high ranking European leaders to attend the ceremonies commemorating the liberation of the death camp by Soviet troops in 1945, which are to be held at the Auschwitz museum.

The commemoration is expected to include an official ceremony in a tent and a march to the neighboring death camp at Birkenau, where a prayer will be held to honor the camps’ victims.

More than 150 former prisoners have confirmed their participation in the ceremonies.

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The ceremony is expected to receive wide coverage in Polish and international media.

Besides Polish President Lech Kaczynski and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the president of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have confirmed their participation.

The importance given by Polish authorities to this anniversary comes as no surprise.

In the past few years Poland has been putting a strong emphasis on stressing its political, economic and cultural ties with Israel.

Furthermore, the anniversary is taking place in the shadow of the theft in December of the death camp’s infamous ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ sign.

While the sign has since been retrieved and the mastermind behind the operation is not believed to be Polish, this embarrassing incident is likely to make Polish leaders to further demonstrate that they continue to attach great importance to commemorating Auschwitz

Poland’s Jewish communities are taking a strong interest in the event as well.

The Warsaw community is organizing bus trips to and from Auschwitz.

The visitors will not be able to attend the main ceremony but will watch it on an outdoor screen.

Among non-Jewish Poles, the event has not received extraordinary attention although interest in Judaism is a growing trend in Poland.

Various yearly Jewish and Klezmer festivals throughout the country and the opening of a Hebrew academy last year in Toruń are but a few examples.

Modern anti-Semitism seems to have little roots among the intellectual elite or among Polish students.