Erdogan accuses Europe of ‘witch hunt’ against Russian artists

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Europe of conducting a “witch hunt” against Russian artists in connection with the Ukraine war.

He told his ruling conservative Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Ankara on Wednesday that, just as Turkey has not abandoned Ukraine, it also “does not accept practices that resemble a witch hunt against the Russian people, Russian literature, or their students and artists.”

Erdogan cited as an example the treatment of the Russian star conductor and Putin ally Valery Gergiev, without mentioning him by name.

The Munich Philharmonic Orchestra parted company with Gergiev at the beginning of March. The conductor had not distanced himself from Putin’s war of aggression on Ukraine, despite being asked to do so. Several orchestras and opera houses around the world have since withdrawn invitations for Gergiev to perform.

In Rome the opera star Jonas Kaufmann said he is worried about fellow artists in Russia.

Russian theatres and artists are dependent on the state, the Munich-born singer said in an interview published by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Wednesday. “If you don’t have good relations with the sate, it’s difficult to get money”.

He warned against cutting cultural links with Russia, and urged people in the west to put themselves in the shoes of Russians before judging them.

“It is hard for us to understand the pressure that the Russian people are facing in terms of the economy and individual freedom,” the 52-year-old tenor said.