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EU blocking accounts of Rossotrudnichestvo, head of Russian culture body says

"Education projects in former Soviet republic are much more important to us," Yevgeny Primakov emphasized, referring to Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, among other nations

MOSCOW, May 22. /TASS/. The European Union has been blocking the accounts of Russia’s cultural promotion agency and Russian culture centers, regardless of diplomatic immunity, Rossotrudnichestvo head Yevgeny Primakov told TASS in an interview.

"We are under sanctions in the European Union, where they have been blocking the accounts of Rossotrudnichestvo and the accounts of Russian culture centers, without taking into account the jurisdictions they belong to or whether they have diplomatic immunity," said Primakov, who heads the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation.

However, he added, Rossotrudnichestvo has been moving its scarce resources to former Soviet republics since before the special military operation. "If we suddenly lose our humanitarian influence over Luxembourg, it will be sad, of course, but I think we will be able to live with that great loss <…> for humanitarian presence, the Russian language, Russian literature, culture, socio-humanitarian programs, exchanges, education projects in former Soviet republic are much more important to us," he emphasized, referring to Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, among other nations.