At the embassy, ​​after the cancellation of Matsuev’s concerts, they reminded Italy of assistance in the pandemic

The mayors of the two Italian cities of Bergamo and Brescia, which received help from Russia at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, at the request of the Ambassador of Ukraine, achieved a ban on the performances of pianist Denis Matsuev. This is stated in statement Russian embassy in Italy in the Telegram channel.

The embassy said that it was “not without surprise that we learned” that in early February, the Ukrainian ambassador to Italy demanded that the mayors of Bergamo and Brescia ban Matsuev from performing at the 60th International Piano Festival. The Italian mayors “conceded” and forced the cancellation of the concerts, saying that the profile of the Russian pianist was allegedly “not artistic, but completely political,” the report says.

In connection with this decision, the embassy recalled how in the spring of 2020 the mayors of Brescia and Bergamo “gratefully accepted the help of the Russian military-humanitarian mission in the fight against the spread of coronavirus.” Then, as diplomats note, the “political profile” of this assistance was not a hindrance for Italy.

“An involuntary question arises: will the Ukrainian Embassy in Italy continue to act as a censor of Italian theaters and concert venues? Or is there hope that Italy will still be able to defend its sovereignty in this area?” – said the embassy.

Earlier TASS with reference to the newspaper Corriere della Sera wrotethat in February, Ukrainian Ambassador to Italy Yaroslav Melnyk asked the mayors of two Italian cities to cancel Matsuev’s concerts. In a response letter, they said that “as a sign of respect for the suffering of the Ukrainian people, they asked the president and artistic director of the International Piano Festival in Brescia and Bergamo” to cancel Matsuev’s concerts. The pianist was due to perform in Bergamo and Brescia in May 2023.

Earlier, performances by People’s Artist of Russia Valery Gergiev, pianist Valentina Lisitsa and dancer Sergei Polunin did not take place in Italy, TASS reported.