Dmitry Kiselev, the director general of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, said on Tuesday that although the Rap Koktebel music festival in Crimea had nothing to do with politics, he was ready to discuss politics with anyone who wished to do so on its sidelines
KOKTEBEL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th August, 2019) Dmitry Kiselev, the director general of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, said on Tuesday that although the Rap Koktebel music festival in Crimea had nothing to do with politics, he was ready to discuss politics with anyone who wished to do so on its sidelines.
"This is not a political event, no matter how actively politics is being foisted on us ... For those who want to discuss politics, I'll have a personal conversation with everyone with pleasure, anytime while I'm here ... But the festival itself is not a political platform," Kiselev told reporters.
Rap Koktebel is Crimea's first youth music festival focused specifically on rap culture. It is running from Tuesday to Wednesday in Koktebel, a resort townlet located on the Black Sea shore. Kiselev, who is also the founder of the international Koktebel Jazz Party festival, thought the rap festival up in 2018, after discussions emerged around rap culture's role in the Russian society, following scandals over cancellations of several rap artists' concerts.
The Krasny Kvadrat company is in charge of organizing the festival.
The Rossiya Segodnya multimedia group aims at providing timely and impartial coverage of events worldwide inclusive of varied opinions. It brings together a number of news agencies each with its own thematic niche, such as RIA Novosti, R-Sport, RIA Real Estate, RIA Rating, Prime, InoSMI and Sputnik. The agency is among Russian media market leaders in implementing social and educational projects.
