Italian artist Jorit poses with Putin in Sochi

(ANSA) - MOSCOW, MAR 7 - Ciro Cirullo, a well-known young Italian street artist who goes by the pseudonym Jorit, spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and posed for a photo with him during a youth forum in Sochi late on Wednesday.
    "A lot of strange things are said about you in Italy," the artist said, to which Putin replied: "sure, just don't pinch me to make sure I'm a real person".
    Jorit's works include a mural of a child in tears under bombs in Mariupol, the Ukraine Red Sea port in the Donetsk region conquered by Russian troops in 2022.
    "The idea was to show the problems of the Donbass children to the whole world," he said.
    "The Western media often distorts reality. They talk about the suffering of children in one country, for example, but remain silent about what is happening in the neighboring one".
    Another mural, meanwhile, portraying Ornella Muti was unveiled in Sochi in the presence of the veteran actress as part of a street-art festival in the city featuring 25 artists from 11 countries. (ANSA).