Italy's foreign minister says allowing Russia to be part of Venice Biennale was ill-advised

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has said he is convinced that inviting Russian artists to the Venice Biennale international art exhibition "was a very ill-advised decision".

Source: Tajani speaking on the sidelines of an event in Verona, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Tajani was commenting on the European Union's decision to withdraw a €2 million grant in response to Russia's return to the exhibition in 2026.

He said that the participation of Russian artists in the Biennale "is certainly a cause for great, great astonishment".

Quote: "Russia is a country that has attacked Ukraine, in violation of international law, and caused hundreds of thousands of deaths on both sides. We also see the attitude it takes towards us: two spies were expelled because they were caught red-handed whilst attempting to bribe two Italians."

Details: Tajani also stressed that "on top of that, there are all the hacking attacks carried out by Russia".

In July, the European Commission recommended that the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) withdraw the €2 million grant to the Venice Biennale over the decision to allow the Russian pavilion to reopen for the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The European Commission had initiated the grant withdrawal procedure after Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, President of the Biennale Foundation, confirmed that the Russian pavilion would reopen for this year's exhibition.

At the first stage of the procedure, the Commission gave the Biennale Foundation 30 days either to abandon its plans or provide arguments sufficient to halt the grant withdrawal process.

The EU subsequently requested further official clarification regarding the true nature of Russia's participation in the event.

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