The founder of British rock band Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, 78, gave an interview, which reacted with outrage in Kyiv and greetings in Moscow. The artist believes that US President Joe Biden is “lighting a fire in Ukraine”, which is a “major crime”. Waters answered questions from CNN journalist Michael Smerkonish in a video interview the channel released on Saturday, August 6.

One of the questions was about Waters’ North American tour with “This Is Not A Drill”. During the performance, photographs of people that the musician considers “war criminals” appear on a giant screen. In one of the images, you can guess the features of US President Joe Biden. The photo is accompanied by the caption “This is just the beginning”.

When asked by the presenter what the performer had in mind, he replied, “Well, he (Biden. – Red.) lighting a fire in Ukraine, to begin with, is a huge crime.”

Waters presenter: “You mixed it all up”

“Why doesn’t the United States of America encourage” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiate, “eliminating the need for this terrible, monstrous war that kills… we don’t know how many… Ukrainians and Russians,” Roger Waters asked rhetorically.

In response, Smerkonish tells Waters that he “got it all wrong” and erroneously “blames the side that got invaded”. However, the Pink Floyd founder continues to defend his position, saying the war is mainly due to Moscow’s reaction to NATO’s actions, which have moved closer to Russia’s borders.

“Why don’t you finally move to Russia?”

Ukraine’s ambassador to Austria Oleksandr Shcherba has already reacted negatively to the artist’s statements. “Hey Roger Waters, first you say there will be no war because Putin is too good. Now there’s a war, and you say it started for objective reasons. , heartless, merciless, misguided human?” – wrote the diplomat on Twitter.

For his part, the former president of Russia Dmitry Medvedev left a note on the social network Vkontakte: “There are still suitable people in the West. Pink Floyd forever!”

One of the authors of The Wall

Roger Waters is known as one of the founders (late 1965) and principal musicians (1967-1985) of Pink Floyd. He was the main ideologue of the group and the main author of the most famous concept album The Wall. In 1985, he left the group, believing he had run out of steam. Relations between Waters and his former Pink Floyd bandmates were only partially restored in 2005, when they performed in the classic lineup at the Live 8 benefit concert in London. During the course of his solo career, Waters released several studio albums, including The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking.

Public law media companies in Germany refused to cooperate with Waters

In 2017, many German media companies that are members of the association of German regional public broadcasters ARD refused to broadcast future concerts by the famous British musician, one of the founders and leaders of Pink Floyd, Roger Waters.

Waters, known for his active anti-Israel stance, has repeatedly claimed that Israel is a “racist regime” that pursues a policy of apartheid and “ethnic cleansing”. The musician is an active supporter of the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which campaigns for boycott, withdrawal of investment and sanctions against Israel.