Municipal authorities in Prague have said they would only allow Russian-born opera singer Anna Netrebko to perform at a concert in the capital if the Ukrainian embassy permits it.
Prague's deputy mayor Jiri Pospisil told the CTK news agency on Thursday that he first wanted to consult the Ukrainian embassy and then decide whether to recommend that cultural officials cancel the performance.
Netrebko's concert is scheduled for October 16 in the Smetana Hall of Prague's Municipal House.
Pospisil made it clear that the Ukrainian attitude to the planned concert performance would be decisive for him: "The opera singer is on Ukraine's sanctions list. If my impression is confirmed, the performance should be cancelled.
"This is not just any concert," he said. "She has been actively involved in supporting the criminal regime in the past."
CTK pointed out that Netrebko has lived in Austria for years, but has in the past has supported Vladimir Putin's presidential bids in Russia.
Netrebko's concert manager told CTK that the opera singer unequivocally condemns Russia's war against Ukraine.
