Metropolitan Opera undeterred by Anna Netrebko fraternizing with terrorists
On December 16, 2014, President Obama signaled his intent to sign newly passed legislation that will expand sanctions against Russia and provide $350 million in arms and military equipment to Ukraine, as it continues to battle terrorist elements armed and empowered by Russia in eastern regions of Ukraine. “The president does intend to sign the piece of legislation that was passed by Congress,” said Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary.” Analysts opined that President Obama had little choice but to sign the legislation, in light of Putin’s outright aggression. Russia has continued to violate the terms of a Minsk agreement by providing military and material support to the terrorists/separatists in Ukraine. Obama is expected to sign the new legislation by the end of this week.
On November 17, 2014, the Metropolitan Opera finally responded to an inquiry about their upcoming opera performances starring Anna Netrebko - opera singer who landed herself in hot water, when she held up the flag of nonexistent “Novorossiya” and posed with terrorist leader, Oleg Tsarov, after handing him a check for 1 million rubles. Netrebko attempted to downplay the event, by claiming that she didn’t realize what the flag symbolized or who Tsarov was. He is the self-appointed leader of the nonexistent terrorist republic “Novorossiya,” the would-be country that Russia-armed insurgents intend to carve out of Ukrainian land. Tsarov is wanted by the Ukrainian government on charges of separatism and is also on the list of individuals sanctioned by the EU for their role in events in Eastern Ukraine. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko stated: "Those armed in Eastern Ukraine should not be referred to as "separatists." There are no separatists there. They are terrorists."
