Russia’s Channel One has decided to cancel the broadcast of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest in light of the entry ban issued by the Ukrainian authorities against Russian contestant Yulia Samoilova, the channel’s press service said in a statement.
"Channel One does not consider it possible to broadcast the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest," the statement reads.
"We believe Ukraine’s refusal to be groundless, it seems to be aimed at politicizing the contest, while during its 62-year history, the Eurovision Song Contest’s goal has remained to unite people," the statement adds.
At the same time, Channel One said that it was "not ready to consider the possibility of replacing Yulia Samoilova with another contestant."
