Ukraine conflict

Anna Netrebko, one of the most successful voices on the international opera scene, posed earlier this week with an official from Ukraine's pro-Russian separatist group, Oleg Tsaryov, while handing him a donation of 1 million rubles (about $18,500).

On Facebook, the singer posted that she hadn't recognized that the "Novorossiya" flag used by the pro-Russian Ukrainian rebels was also in the photo.

"The presence of the flag was unplanned and caught me off guard; I actually did not recognize it at first and realized only later what it was," said Netrebko, 43.

The donation was intended to go to the opera house in Donetsk, which Netrebko said was not about politics.

"I simply want the fighting to end as soon as possible and I want to support art and artists in a time of terrible conflict," she said.

Tsaryov published a photograph of his meeting with Netrebko on his Twitter account, which sparked both positive and negative reactions. Criticism came in particular from Austria, where the opera star lives. She maintains both Austrian and Russian citizenship.

"Her meeting with a separatist leader and having a photo taken in front of a separatist flag is highly problematic," an Austrian foreign official told Reuters. "Given the really difficult situation we are facing in Ukraine, this is anything but helpful."

Austrian Airlines had hired Netrebko for a marketing campaign, but tweeted after the incident: "We clearly distance ourselves from extreme political positions and the use of armed violence." They did not say whether or not the cooperation with the opera star would be terminated.

kbm/ (Reuters, dpa, AP)