The European Education and Culture Executive Agency has suspended a €2 million grant for the Venice Biennale following the return of the Russian pavilion, reported Vice Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy – Minister of Culture Tetiana Berezhna.
"The decision was made based on a legal assessment and the recommendation of the European Commission. European funds cannot support platforms that provide the aggressor state with an opportunity to normalize its presence in the international cultural space. Culture cannot become a tool for whitewashing aggression and legitimizing war crimes," Berezhna wrote on Facebook.
She emphasized that Russia’s participation in international cultural events is unacceptable.
"A state that kills artists, destroys museums, theaters, libraries, and churches, steals cultural valuables, and erases Ukrainian identity in the occupied territories cannot use culture to whitewash its own crimes," the Vice Prime Minister added.
Berezhna expressed gratitude to the European Commission, the European Education and Culture Executive Agency, as well as governments and representatives of more than 20 European countries calling to bar Russia from participating in the Venice Biennale.
