Last week, it was announced that Russia will participate in this year's Venice Art Biennale after several years of absence following the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine in 2022.

Purga told ERR on Monday that a joint statement is currently being prepared with the culture ministries of other countries to criticize the move.

"I discussed the issue on Friday morning with Ukraine's culture minister, and over the weekend I was also in close contact with Latvia's culture minister to coordinate the actions of countries that share the same values," she said,

"We also want to remind the biennale organizers of the joint agreements and principles in the European Union and ask for Russia's participation to be canceled. At a meeting on Monday morning with the French ambassador to Estonia, we learned that France will also join us, and more countries are joining."

The minister stressed that Russia continues to wage a war of aggression against Ukraine. Moscow has destroyed more than 1,600 cultural heritage sites and killed at least 342 artists.

"Giving Russia a prestigious platform at a very important cultural event in the world in such a situation sends a signal that everything is normal, but it is not. We cannot accept that Russia uses culture as a tool of war propaganda," she said.

Purga said restrictions on Russia are starting to be relaxed.

"Unfortunately, we do see this, for example, in light of the Paralympics currently taking place. For that reason, the Ministry of Culture did not participate in the Paralympics opening ceremony but supported our athletes at the competition venue," the minister said, adding that the task is to respond to every such case together with the rest of Europe.

For now, Estonia still plans to participate in this year's Venice Biennale.

"A boycott works if a critical mass of countries were to do it, which would force the Venice Biennale to reconsider its decisions. At this stage, withdrawing is no longer realistic nor fair to the artists of our country and other countries that stand for democratic values. Estonia will participate in the Venice Biennale, just as Ukraine will," she said.

"However, in cooperation with Ukraine and other democratic countries, we are working on how to best use our platform to convey our own message," Purga said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) also criticized Russia's participation over the weekend.

Russia has not stopped killing civilians in their sleep.

So there must be no pause in isolating Russia.@la_Biennale must not offer Russia a platform to whitewash its actions or hide the brutality of its aggression under the guise of culture.https://t.co/ndcHOerd3G

— Margus Tsahkna (@Tsahkna) March 8, 2026

"Russia has not stopped killing civilians in their sleep. So there must be no pause in isolating Russia," he wrote on X.

He said Russia must not be given a "platform to whitewash its actions or hide the brutality of its aggression under the guise of culture."

The Venice Biennale is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. It is "one of Italy's most important cultural institutions," the Guardian newspaper says. It will take place this year from May 9 until November 22.

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