The Brussels Urban Summit, a gathering of mayors from 120 international cities in the Belgian capital, is on the brink of a major diplomatic fiasco. Following the controversy surrounding the
visit of Tehran's mayor, Alireza Zakani, it has now come to light that two Russian officials were either present or invited to the multi-day event, as reported by 'La Libre'.
Earlier this week, Pascal Smet, Brussels' secretary of state and the organizer of the Brussels Urban Summit, faced severe criticism for facilitating the visit of the ultra-conservative mayor of Tehran, Alireza Zakani. Now, it has emerged that two Russian representatives were also included in the event, despite current EU policy that calls for excluding Russian officials from such conferences.
Deputy Mayor of Kazan
One of the Russian invitees is Evgenia Lodvigova, the deputy mayor of Kazan, the capital of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan. A spokesperson from Smet's office justified the invitation, citing Kazan's membership in the Metropolis network of cities.
However, The Brussels Times uncovered Lodvigova's close ties to Russia's war against Ukraine. As a local official and a member of Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, Lodvigova has played a significant role in mobilizing troops in Tatarstan. In recognition of her services to the Russian state, she personally received the Order of Merit to the Fatherland medal from Vladimir Putin in September 2022.
Smet claims unawareness of Russian politicians' presence A spokesperson from the Brussels secretary of state's office claimed to be unaware of Lodvigova's involvement in the war in Ukraine. They stated that Smet was "convinced that no Russian politicians were present" at the summit.
According to Smet's spokesperson, the secretariat's role in inviting the Russian politician was limited to a "general letter of invitation sent by the network to all its members." They added that the network routinely extends invitations to all its members for various events. Photo by Amikeco (В. Иванов), Wikimedia commons.