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ROME, July 23 (Reuters) - The Venice Biennale would undermine its autonomy and freedom of expression if it bowed to European Union pressure to shut Russia out of its events, the foundation's chairman said on Thursday, criticising the EU's recent decision to cut funding.
Earlier this week, the EU said it had decided to withdraw a €2 million ($2.3 million) grant in response to the return of Russia to the Biennale's arts exhibition this year for the first time since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
"(The EU) was a fellow traveler with whom we shared part of a journey, and who is now leaving us for reasons that are entirely political, certainly not legal, and still less cultural," chairman Pietrangelo Buttafuoco said at the presentation of the 2026 Venice Film Festival.
The European Commission said the grant was withdrawn because EU taxpayers' money should support initiatives that uphold the values of democracy and freedom, which it said Russia does not currently embody.
The Biennale, an international cultural exhibition hosted by Venice every two years, rejected that argument, saying art should remain a neutral space for dialogue. It also said the EU funding co-financed projects run by its cinema division that were unrelated to Russia's participation in the art exhibition.
"We are called here to pursue international research in the arts and to respond to their demands. Otherwise we would betray the principles of autonomy, freedom of expression, research, creativity, and imagination that have defined this institution for 131 years," Buttafuoco added.
After learning of the EU decision on Wednesday, the Biennale said it would challenge the move, while stressing that the loss of funding would have no significant impact on its finances.
($1 = 0.8769 euros)
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Writing by Angelo AmanteEditing by Gareth Jones)
