Governor of Sevastopol invites Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters to play a concert

Governor of Sevastopol Dmitry Ovsyannikov thanked Pink Floyd's former frontman Roger Waters for his support of the reunification of Crimea with Russia and invited the musician to visit the city and to play a concert there, the press service of the Sevastopol administration reported.

"I invite you personally, Mr. Waters, to visit our city at any time convenient for you and to give a concert in defense of peace in Sevastopol, which went through many wars," according to the statement.

"We are convinced that such a campaign of Yours together with your world renowned fellow musicians will become a big event and will play an effective role in struggle for peace in the world," the governor said as quoted by his press service.

It is noted that the decision to invite Waters to Sevastopol was prompted by the statement the musician made in a recent interview with the Izvestia newspaper. Waters defended the reunification of Crimea with Russia saying that "many agreements and other papers" exist that prove Russia's claims for Sevastopol, a major military port in Crimea.
Mr. Pink Floyd

Roger Waters, who marks his 75th birthday on September 6, is the former vocalist and bassist of the legendary British band Pink Floyd. He is the author of most of Pink Floyd's songs before 1984 when he left the band. His songs and concerts (both in the days of Pink Floyd and as a solo artists) have always been politically charged: it is enough to recall Pink Floyd’s anti-totalitarian album The Wall (1979) as well as the Final Cut (1983), Waters’ last album with the band where he harshly criticized the political establishment.

In his latest album titled Is This The Life We Really Want? Waters shares his view on the recent political metamorphosis in the world.

In late August, as part of the world tour Us + Them, Waters played shows in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

After his interview with Izvestia ahead of his Russian concerts Waters was added to the database of Ukraine’s notorious Mirotvorets (or Peacekeeper) website. A statement published on the website explains the reasons for the move, accusing Waters of "propaganda against Ukraine, attempts to infringe on Ukraine’s territorial integrity and participation in attempts to legalize Russia’s annexation of Crimea."
Reunification of Crimea with Russia

Amid the political crisis and regime change in Ukraine in February 2014, Crimea’s Supreme Council (parliament) and Sevastopol’s City Council adopted on March 11, 2014, Crimea’s and Sevastopol’s declaration of independence. A referendum on reunification with Russia was held on March 16, 2014. With a record-breaking turnout of over 80%, the overwhelming majority of Crimea’s and Sevastopol residents, mostly ethic Russians, (96.7 and 95.6%, respectively) voted in favor of seceding from Ukraine to join Russia. After the treaty of Crimea’s and Sevastopol’s reunification with Russia was approved by the Russian parliament, President Vladimir Putin on March 21, 2014, signed a federal law on their incorporation into Russia. Despite the convincing results of the referendum, Kiev has refused to recognize Crimea as part of Russia.