Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was left to address a mostly empty U.N. conference room in Geneva on Tuesday after dozens of diplomats walked out in protest of his country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Council led the revolt and was immediately followed out of the hall by about 100 mostly-western envoys, including those from the U.S., the U.K. and the European Union.
Mr. Lavrov said he was prevented from attending the session in person because of a European ban on flights coming from Russia, according to the AP.
He denied that Russia is targeting civilians and accused Ukraine of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons — a claim no other country has substantiated.
Ukraine voluntarily handed over its then-substantial nuclear stockpile in 1994 following the collapse of the Soviet Union in exchange for security guarantees from a number of countries, including Russia.
Ukraine’s ambassador Yevhenila Filipenko called the walkout “a remarkable show of support for Ukrainians who are fighting for their independence,” according to Reuters.
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly was attending the meeting and said Mr. Lavrov’s account of what is occurring inside Ukraine is simply false.
“That’s why we wanted to show a very strong stance together,” she said, according to Reuters.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was making a remote address to the European Parliament at about the same time diplomats were walking out on Mr. Lavrov in Geneva.
Mr. Zelenskyy got a standing ovation.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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