On July 14, Vitebsk /Eduard Pivovar - BELTA/. Russia cherishes the international arts festival "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" and Belarusian-Russian cultural cooperation in general. This was stated in a conversation with journalists in Vitebsk by the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Alexander Avdeev, BELTA correspondent reports. "We have brought and will continue to bring the brightest representatives of Russian art to the festival," the minister assured, adding that to achieve this, he intends to ask for more funds from the Ministry of Finance. "The common goal of Belarus and Russia is to strengthen the common cultural space of the Union State," the Russian minister emphasized. "Culture is outside of politics," said Alexander Avdeev, responding to a question from a BELTA correspondent about why the President of Russia, for the first time in the 20-year history of "Slavianski Bazaar", did not send a greeting to the participants and guests of the forum. "The message from Russia is the best Russian ensembles and performers whom we have sent to the Vitebsk festival," the minister said. Alexander Avdeev also shared his impressions of a walk around Vitebsk, which he took during his stay at the festival. "I fell in love with this city, it is very cozy, designed for people. Vitebsk has no aggressive architecture, it is clean and beautiful," the Russian minister did not hide his admiration. -0-

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