The Embassy of Ukraine in Uzbekistan commented on the statement of the Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Bakhodir Akhmedov regarding the concert of the Russian singer Grigory Leps scheduled for October in Tashkent.
Grigory Leps supports Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, on July 3 he said that he had paid 1 million rubles to a Russian soldier who destroyed a Ukrainian Leopard tank. A group of activists in Uzbekistan demand the cancellation of Grigory Leps' concert in Tashkent.
Earlier the Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Bahodir Akhmedov in an interview, stated that “art has no borders even when every other thing can be limited,” and added that there were no barriers to art in Uzbekistan.
“The Embassy draws attention to the fact that performances in Uzbekistan of Russian singers supporting the war may create an appearance of support for their criminal activities aimed at inciting war, which poses a threat to Uzbekistan’s image. In addition, the funds received by Russian singers can be used to finance war, terrorism and genocide of the Ukrainian people," the diplomatic mission stressed.
The embassy reported that they had sent "an appropriate letter on this issue to the relevant authorities of Uzbekistan."
While, the Embassy expressed gratitude to the Uzbek public, which opposed the use of concert venues in Uzbekistan for performances by Russian artists supporting the war.
