BUENOS AIRES, December 6. /TASS/. Russia looks forward to continuing fruitful cooperation with Argentina in the field of culture after the inauguration of President-elect Mauricio Macri, Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky has told TASS.
"We had very fruitful and effective relationship with the Cabinet headed by the outgoing president. We spoke the same language and understood each other, we had no problems whatsoever. I hope we will have the same fruitful relationship with the future government," Medinsky said. In his opinion, "cultural relations, as a rule, are unaffected by the change of government."
According to the minister, this year has proved to be very successful for the cultural cooperation between the two countries. He noted that the Mariinsky Theater and the Et Cetera theater had toured Argentina this year, and the Feel Russia festival is underway. The Russian film week is to be held next week, with Russian filmmakers taking part in the event.
Medinsky noted though that the cultural exchange program for the next year "depended strongly on the Argentinian side." "If there is interest from a host country, we, as a rule, provide government assistance in terms of air travel to our best performers. But then a host country must meet them and organize concerts," the minister noted.
For her part, head of the Department for Cultural Policy and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Culture of Argentina Monica Guarilio told TASS that the ministry was looking forward to the implementation of the program of cooperation for 2016-2018 signed in April. "This is a commitment we have made. We hope that concrete steps will be taken," she said. "It is important for both countries to comply with these international agreements."
This year Russia and Argentina mark the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. October 22, 1885, is considered to be the official date of their establishment. On that day, the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Empire appointed Alexander Ionin, traveler and writer who travelled about almost the entire South America, Russia’s Ambassador to Argentina.