LONDON, August 25. /TASS/. American filmmaker and screenwriter Woody Allen has responded to the criticism over his participation in the Moscow International Film Week, saying that it is important to maintain artistic dialogue regardless of countries’ political positions.

"When it comes to the conflict in Ukraine, I believe strongly that Vladimir Putin is totally in the wrong. The war he has caused is appalling. But, whatever politicians have done, I don’t feel cutting off artistic conversations is ever a good way to help," he told The Guardian.

On August 24, Allen joined the session Legends of World Cinema via video link as part of the Moscow International Film Week.

On Monday, the Ukrainian foreign ministry condemned his participation in the Moscow event. A theater in Lvov canceled Bullets Over Broadway Musical based on Allen’s screenplay and Ukraine’s Mirotvorets extremist website added him to its database for "publicly supporting Russia’s aggression."

Woody Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg) is an American filmmaker, comedian, screenwriter, jazz clarinetist, four-time Oscar laureate and writer, the author of numerous short stories and plays. He was born on November 30, 1935 in New York. Allen is considered the creator of the "intellectual comedy" genre where serious issues raised by the author and his characters coexist with a mocking, ironic attitude. His numerous cinematic works include Love and Death, Annie Hall, Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Midnight in Paris.