Kyiv denies that it was asked to cancel Russian black list for Eurovision-2017
Ukrayinska Pravda reports that Olexandr Harebin, the first Deputy General Director of NTU and executive producer of Eurovision-2017, said on Russian media that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) allegedly urged Kyiv to cancel the list of banned Russian artists.
Harebin though said that the EBU did not make such a request to Ukraine concerning the so-called "black lists".
"I have no desire to comment on any more Russian media allegations, but I will say that the EBU does not negotiate with any Ukrainian authorities neither with us, the organizers of the Eurovision-2017. We were certainly not involved in any negotiations to repeal the so-called "black lists" of Russian artists for the song contest," the first Deputy General Director of the NTU said.
According to him, the EBU’s press service never made such a statement. "These allegations only serve Russian media’s desires or the desires of those who control them," Harebin said. He also went on to explain that if the Russian delegation includes a "banned artist" in the contest, then it will not be allowed on Ukrainian territory, as it is an issue of national security.
The Ukrainian Security Service also reported that the EBU never asked them to lift entry bans for Russian artists.
It was earlier reported that Russia confirmed to the European Broadcasting Union its intention to take part in Kyiv’s Eurovision-2017.