A rainbow-coloured ice cream brand in Russia has been accused of promoting homosexuality.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been asked to ban the sale of this ice cream as it supposedly violates the country's controversial gay propaganda laws.
MP and the head of Russia's Union of Women, Yekaterina Lakhova, told Putin she believes the ice cream flavour is "hidden advertising" for the LGBTQI+ movement, which uses a rainbow flag as its main symbol.
"I talked about hidden advertising, indirect, which is constantly imposed quietly by the words 'rainbow'," she told the Ascension publication.
Lakhova said the ice cream could potentially cause Russian children to become "accustomed" to the rainbow flag.
"I have a negative attitude to the rainbow, as well as to the swastika that has been banned to date."
Homosexuality is not a criminal offence in Russia, but the gay propaganda law signed by Putin in 2013 considers the public promotion of homosexuality a crime.
In an interview with Ekho Moskvy, Armen Beniaminov, the vice president of Chistaya Liniya, the company that produces the ice cream, denied any relations to the LGBTQI+ community.
"It is a delightfully delicious and high-quality ice cream with various colours based on natural dyes," Armen Beniaminov said.
"For us, the rainbow represents the sunshine after rain, the most beautiful natural phenomenon. We don't see any comparison with the LGBT movement or its symbols."
