"The US participation in Intervision is an important component of its success"

Russia expects to participate in the next "Inter-Vision" of all BRICS countries, Alexander Alimov, director of the Department for Multilateral Humanitarian Cooperation and Cultural Relations at the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Izvestia. The first music competition will be held on September 20 in Moscow, and all the countries of the association, except Iran and Indonesia, have confirmed their participation. The diplomat did not rule out that representatives of EU countries would be able to participate in the next Intervision contests, and negotiations on inviting European performers were underway this time. At the same time, according to the diplomat, there are no conditions for the return of Russian artists to participate in Eurovision. About the prospects of Intervision and cultural and humanitarian cooperation between the Russian Federation and other countries - in an exclusive interview with Alexander Alimov "Izvestia".

"There were options for inviting performers from EU countries to the Intervision"

— Just three days before the "Intervision", on September 17, it became known that the USA will be represented by singer Vassy instead of Brandon Howard. How did the Russian Foreign Ministry react to this, and does Russia see any signal from the United States here?

— The USA is participating in the competition. This is what we know at the moment. It so happened that due to personal reasons, the first performer who was announced would not be able to participate. But for us, the US participation in Intervision is an important component of its success. We expect it to be bright, talented and meet the objectives, principles, and values of the competition.

— Representatives of the European Union do not participate in Intervision. Were they invited?

— As Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier, initially the authors of the idea of the competition focused on the BRICS+, SCO+, and CIS countries. These are countries with which we have long-standing cultural ties that continue to develop dynamically. And, of course, when the organizers conceived this contest, they primarily looked at these states. This is completely understandable.

But at the same time, the competition was not positioned at any stage as an "exclusive club" whose doors were closed to someone. During the preparation process, information about the competition began to appear, and negotiations were conducted in many areas and formats, contacts began to expand, and proposals were received.

There were options for inviting performers from EU countries to the "Intervision". They were considered, and there was interest. However, due to certain circumstances, such agreements have not been published. This was influenced by many aspects unrelated to geopolitics.: These are the artists' schedules and a fairly high creative qualification of the competition. At the same time, there was not a single refusal on our part for political reasons.

— Will the EU countries be able to participate in Intervision in the future?

— So far, there have been no brave souls from the European Union. At the same time, the answer to this question is formed from several circumstances. The requirements contained in the competition regulations for the song, performance, and format are known and unchanged. The philosophy of the contest's values also remains unchanged, and this is also no secret.

But the willingness of unfriendly elites to tolerate encroachment on the monopoly of their agenda, the ability to overcome Russophobia, to accept success beyond their control at other venues — this will affect whether they will be able to create normal conditions for performers who wish to participate in the next stages of the Intervision contest.

We see this project as a multi-year one. We hope that the baton will be passed and the project will develop. We are sure that it is high-quality and beautiful. And this will help ensure that the shackles imposed on performers representing EU countries will be less embarrassing for them, and they will be able to choose between our beauty and being trapped by some demands that have nothing to do with cultural cooperation.

— Can we say that it is unacceptable for Russia to invite performers from EU countries to the "Intervision", in which concerts of Russian cultural figures are canceled?

— There is no such thing. Conversely. Please come. Our sites are open, we do not build any barriers.

— Many BRICS countries are participating in the competition. Are we discussing further expansion of the scale of Intervision at the association level?

— We are glad and encouraged that the countries of the association are participating in the competition. And those countries whose names this abbreviation consists of, and those who joined the association later. Unity in the diversity of BRICS is very good for the competition, and we hope that the correlation of the names BRICS and Intervision will continue in the future.

This is useful not only for "Intervision", but it is generally a good tradition for cooperation within the framework of BRICS. However, the competition is not included in the official part of the association's program. But this is not required. Intervision is open to non-BRICS countries. The organizers are equally enthusiastic about performers from both the countries of the association and beyond. We don't have any dividing lines. We hope that the success of the contest will make it a good tradition for all BRICS countries to participate in it.

"If there are nominees from the USA, I don't think anyone will be allergic"

— Intervision will be held in Moscow, and Russia attaches great importance to this competition. But is Russia open to returning, including to Eurovision, or is this issue completely closed to the Russian Federation?

— Russian performers, I am sure, will be happy and proud to go to the venues of other countries. This is the philosophy of the contest: mutual understanding, comprehension, enrichment, respect, cultural exchange. This is the purpose of the competition and the vector of its movement.

As for Eurovision, my opinion is, why come back? To plunge back into the atmosphere of distorted norms and the constant feeling that someone is manipulating the vote?

And at the same time, in order to return, where should I turn? To the European Broadcasting Union? Knocking on a closed door? Personally, I don't see any conditions for a return right now. We have a much more interesting project. Intervision is open to the whole world. It is much more interesting to listen to music from Latin America, Africa, and the Arab East than Europop, with all due respect to its creators.

— On November 24, Moscow will host the first Diamond Butterfly Film Award ceremony of the Eurasian Academy of Cinematographic Arts. What is the stage of preparation for the event?

— Indeed, the first Diamond Butterfly Award ceremony will be held this year. The aim of the award is to remind the world of the true mission of cinema, to speak about the values of culture, culture in a universal sense, openness, interaction, mutual understanding. But we leave commercial success in the background. As far as I know, more than 20 countries have already applied for participation in the academy. 30 films were sent for consideration by the jury. The work is underway. I am sure that the number of films that will be considered by the jury will increase. The full list of participating countries and the names of the nominees will be announced in October 2025.

— Did the organizers invite representatives of the United States to participate?

— If there are nominees from the USA, I think it will not cause allergies to anyone and, on the contrary, will be welcomed. To our colleagues from the North American continent, we can say You are welcome. — Ed.). The main thing for the award is the criteria, principles, and philosophy of this competition. It should be a high-quality movie. There is still time before the award, applications are being considered, and there will be news.

— Will the ceremony be an annual one?

— That's what it's planned to be.

"We are impressed by Professor al-Anani's thesis on the need to return full power to UNESCO to the member countries"

— Earlier, a digital restoration project for the Arc de Triomphe in Palmyra was presented in St. Petersburg, and Russian specialists are ready to participate in this. Is Russia conducting a dialogue on this issue with the Syrian authorities?

— The symbol of Syria, the Triumphal Arch of the famous Palmyra, was blown up by ISIS (an organization banned in Russia) in the fall of 2015. As a result, the vault collapsed, and the central span was completely destroyed. Only the extreme pylons have been preserved from the side spans. The internal pylons were damaged, the carved stone blocks that made up the arches were badly damaged, and some of the elements were irretrievably lost.

The Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IIMC RAS) and the General Department of Antiquities and Museums of Syria (DGAM) signed a memorandum on the restoration of Palmyra's Arc de Triomphe. Scientific guidance was provided by the Center for Rescue Archaeology of the IIMK RAS, which has experience in Syria and brought together the best specialists from St. Petersburg and Russia. The joint Russian-Syrian team led by Natalia Solovyova has completed all preparatory activities.

A lot has been done over the years: the entire volume of post-traumatic response has been completed, archaeological excavations have been carried out, samples have been collected and materials analyzed, and a geological survey has been conducted.

In March 2023, the creation of the project documentation was completed. The latest computer technologies were used in the development of the project. A digital 3D reconstruction of the historical appearance and a digital 3D model of the arch before and after the explosion were performed. The data obtained as a result of the research significantly changed the initial ideas about possible restoration paths and allowed us to prepare a fundamentally new project for the restoration of the arch. In April 2023, a public defense of the project took place in Russia, on May 24-25, 2023— in Syria, then the project was sent to UNESCO. In August 2023, the project was agreed upon and highly appreciated by UNESCO.

A high-ranking Russian delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak recently visited Syria. Russian specialists will be able to begin the restoration of the Triumphal Arch of Syrian Palmyra, agreements on which were concluded under the previous president of Syria after its project is approved by the transitional government of the Arab republic, the relevant negotiations are already underway. We'll have to wait to see what decisions we can make.

— Did the created 3D model of the arch in Palmyra interest specialists from other countries?

— The Center for Rescue Archaeology of the IIMK RAS has initiated a large-scale international project to create a digital database of historical and cultural monuments of various eras and civilizations, including those included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, on the territory of African states and countries of the Islamic world.

The project has high humanitarian and foreign policy significance and will be an important contribution to humanitarian cooperation with the Global South.

The project is in demand by the African states themselves: currently, the CSA of the IIMC RAS has received letters from the following countries: Benin and Togo, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Sierra Leone, Libya, Morocco, Namibia, Seychelles, Senegal and Ethiopia.

— Russia expects Egypt's Khaled al-Anani to become the next head of UNESCO. In your opinion, how many countries support his candidacy? What changes does Russia expect from UNESCO's work after the leadership change?

— The election of the new Director General of UNESCO will be held on October 6 during the 222nd session of the Executive Council in Paris, and their results will be approved at the 43rd session of UNESCO's supreme body, the General Conference, on November 6 in Samarkand.

Egyptian candidate, historian, former Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Professor Khaled al-Anani, has been actively campaigning since April 2023. As part of it, he visited over sixty countries. In February 2024, the African Union officially announced its support, and in May of the same year, the League of Arab States. Taking into account the fact that the first organization includes 54 countries, and the second — 22, there are almost eight dozen members of these two associations alone who declared support for the Egyptian. In addition, states from other regions, including Brazil, Turkey, France, Spain, and Germany, spoke in favor of al-Anani's candidacy.

We are impressed by Professor al-Anani's thesis on the need to return full power to UNESCO to the member countries, to strengthen transparency and accountability in the spending of budgetary and donor funds. As we understand it, he is determined to carry out long-overdue reforms in the organization's secretariat, which is disproportionately influenced by Western countries.

It's no secret that under the current CEO, French Audrey Azoulay, this body has repeatedly demonstrated selectivity, even engagement. This was manifested in many ways, in particular, in the Director General's lack of reaction to the murders of Russian journalists, violations of the rights of the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine and the Baltic States, and attacks by the Kiev regime on educational and cultural sites, including those listed as a World Heritage Site.

It can take a long time to list. We hope that under the new Director General, a course will be taken to depoliticize the prestigious universal humanitarian forum, which is UNESCO. We advocate that the organization act as a platform for a truly equal and mutually respectful professional dialogue in the fields of education, science, culture, and information in the interests of all member countries. For our part, we are ready to continue to actively promote such cooperation.

We are encouraged by Khaled al-Anani's willingness to strengthen UNESCO's potential and authority. We believe that the Egyptian's rich academic and managerial experience, including in his ministerial post, as well as his high professional and personal qualities, will contribute to this.