Milan, 6 May (LaPresse) – ‘It is deeply regrettable that the Italian leadership, as well as the management of the Biennale, has become the subject of an unacceptable, crude diktat and pressure from the EU, whose anonymous bureaucrats have, in recent years, done everything in their power to impose an “iron curtain” on their side, preventing any cultural, educational or scientific exchange between EU countries and Russia.’ This is the view of Russia’s ambassador to Italy, Alexey Paramonov, regarding the Russian Pavilion’s presence at the Venice Art Biennale. It appears in a post by the embassy on Facebook. “ We are well aware that in Italy the majority of sensible people do not share this approach and do not wish to sever the centuries-old cultural ties with Russia, one of the symbols of which is precisely the Russian Pavilion in Venice,” adds Paramonov, “nor do they accept the absurd claim that the presence of over 50 young Russian musicians, philosophers and poets, as well as representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Mali, Mexico and the US, involved in our project, could constitute an attack on the unity of the West or even its defeat.‘ ’Our presence at the Biennale merely testifies to Russia’s willingness, as well as that of many other countries, to continue engaging with Italy not through diktats and bullying but through the language of culture and art, pursuing a normal, respectful and equal dialogue," concludes the Russian diplomat, “there is truly something painful and unreasonable about the European Union’s obsession with targeting Russian culture and art with sanctions and restrictions of every kind!”
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