Russia has been warned by Venice’s mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, that if its pavilion peddles propaganda at the upcoming biennial, it will be shutdown.

Brugnaro was addressing media at the opening of the Venice Biennale’s revamped Central Pavilion, which cost €31 million and took 16 months to complete. “If the Russian government were to carry out propaganda, we would be the first to close the pavilion,” Brugnaro told the Ansa press agency.

Russia’s decision to reopen its pavilion for the first time since invading Ukraine four years ago has polarized the art world. Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco—who has not opposed the move—and Italian culture minister Alessandro Giuli—who has—have exchanged barbs. Brugnaro said he and Giuli had “differing visions.”

“I am pro-Ukrainian, we have twinned Venice with Odessa, and Russia is the aggressor, but we are not at war with the Russian people, and art is open,” he added, while stressing that May’s biennale should remain a place for dialogue and cultural exchange.