The Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, Martin Green, stated that Russia could "theoretically" return to the competition. This was reported by LBC, according to UNN.
Details
According to Green, Russia's suspension was not directly related to the war against Ukraine, but rather to the status of the Russian state broadcaster VGTRK, whose independence from the Kremlin the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) was unable to verify.
When asked by journalists whether Russia could return to the contest if the broadcaster complied with EBU rules, Green replied: "Theoretically, yes."
At the same time, he stated that the decision to suspend Russia was not based specifically on the fact of the war.
"Then you get into very difficult territory of subjective assessments," he explained.
Addendum
The statement provoked a sharp reaction from British politicians. British MP Tom Gordon called such words "moral cowardice" and a "terrible betrayal of allies."
"Now we have learned that this was never a principled position, but only a technical issue. Russia can return to Eurovision while its missiles are still falling on Kyiv," he stated.
MP Josh Newbery also criticized Green's words, stating that he "destroyed his own argument in two words."
The article notes that this year's contest in Vienna is already accompanied by scandals due to Israel's participation amid the war in Gaza. Because of this, five broadcasters boycotted the contest, and the Israeli participant's performance was booed in the hall.
Martin Green stated that the situation with Israel is different due to the lack of a "global consensus" regarding the country.