Proposal on Russia's Eurovision Participant Politicizes Contest - Kiev

The proposal of the European Broadcasting Union to Russia's Channel One to arrange a satellite broadcast of the performance of Russian 2017 Eurovision participant, who was banned from entering Ukraine, politicizes the song contest, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Vyacheslav Kyrylenko said Thursday.

KIEV (Sputnik) — He added that Russia should send another participant.

The Union proposal came earlier in the day, with the union stressing that it was ready for such an "unprecedented move," taking into consideration the current situation.

"The tour and TV shows with the participation of persona non grata are prohibited in Ukraine. The decision is to change a participant from the Russian Federation. The EBU stance politicizes the contest," Kyrylenko wrote on Twitter.

Гастролі та телепередачі за участю персон нон-ґрата в Україні заборонені. Рішення-у зміні учасника від РФ. А позиція ЄМС політизує конкурс.

— В'ячеслав Кириленко (@KyrylenkoVyach) March 23, 2017

On Wednesday, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) banned entry to the country for three years for Yulia Samoilova, citing the alleged "violation by her of the Ukrainian legislation."

The Russian singer visited Crimea in 2015 with a concert without obtaining a permit from the Ukrainian authorities. In accordance with the country's law, Ukraine may ban entry for foreigners who had visited post-referendum Crimea without a permit from Kiev.

Earlier on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the decision was made by Kiev and not by the Eurovision organizers, adding that the decision of the Ukrainian authorities "seriously devalued" the contest.