The United States and allies put pressure on countries during elections to the UN Human Rights Council so that Russia would not return to the UN body, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
The Met Opera banned Netrebko in early March following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, claiming she had not done enough to disassociate herself from the Putin regime.
The Russian violinist Dmitry Smirnov, who has declined to make any public declaration on the war, has emphasized he is on the side of all those who build bridges.
Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston proposed that tennis’ top-ranked player and other Russians would need to provide “assurances” that they don’t support Putin to compete at Wimbledon.