Putin Skips France Visit After His Cultural Tour Cancelled
- October 12, 2016 14:07
Vladimir Putin has postponed a cultural visit to France hours after French President Francois Hollande suggested Russia could face war crimes for its latest bombings in Syria.
Hollande said he would have to talk about the Syrian conflict with Putin if he visited, instead of a planned tour of Parisian cultural sites. Hollande's remarks came after Moscow vetoed France's UN resolution to halt Russian bombing of Aleppo.
Putin was to visit the Fondation Louis Vuitton which is hosting 130 masterworks amassed by Russian collector Sergei Shchukin in the exhibition "Icons of Modern Art." He was also to view a new Russian Orthodox catherdral along the Seine.
“Certain events were planned connected with the opening of a Russian cultural-spiritual centre and the holding of an exhibit. Unfortunately, these events dropped out of the programme, and for this reason the president [had] to cancel the visit to France for now,” said Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov.
![Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), After Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Rape of Europa, 1628–29. Oil on canvas, 71 7/8 x 79 3/8 in.](/images/c/e2/2e/Jan20_Rape_of_Europa100x100_c.jpg "Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), After Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Rape of Europa, 1628–29. Oil on canvas, 71 7/8 x 79 3/8 in.")
