Geneva: Bestselling author and novelist Paulo Coelho has expressed his thoughts over the ongoing crisis between Ukraine and Russia, stating that the same has become a ‘convenient excuse’ for the world for ‘Russophobia’ (strong dislike towards Russia and Russian things).
The Brazilian writer posted a message on his official Twitter handle on March 11, which said, “Ukraine crisis a convenient excuse for Russophobia”.
According to a BBC report, Coelho was widely condemned by social media users, many of whom urged him to acknowledge the devastating impact of the Russian invasion and to publish photos of the victims and destruction caused by the Russian army.
Reacting to the criticism, writer of The Alchemist said that he has travelled to several cities of Ukraine.
“I’ve been to Lvov, Kyiv, Odessa, Yalta, Chernobyl (Ukraine) I’ve crossed 10,000 km by train, Moscow to Vladivostok (Russia) Yes, there is a war: but don’t blame the common people,” he said in another post on Twitter.Â
