Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha thanked the European Commission and the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) for the decision to terminate EUR 2 million in funding for the Venice Biennale, emphasizing the inadmissibility of supporting initiatives that provide a platform for Russia during its war of aggression against Ukraine.
"Moral blindness is costly. Grateful to the European Commission and EACEA for their principled decision to terminate the €2 million grant for the Venice Biennale," Sybiha wrote in a post shared on the social network X.
According to the Minister, the European Union should not fund initiatives that create a platform for Russia while it continues its war against Ukraine.
"There can be no EU funding for initiatives that provide a platform for Russia while it continues its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine," the Foreign Minister noted.
Sybiha added that against the backdrop of Russian missile strikes and the destruction of Ukraine’s cultural heritage, Europe must remain firm in defending its values and denying legitimacy to the aggressor on the international stage.
As reported, earlier Vice Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy – Minister of Culture Tetiana Berezhna reported that the European Education and Culture Executive Agency suspended a EUR 2 million grant for the Venice Biennale due to the return of the Russian pavilion.
