British musician Roger Waters, co-founder of Pink Floyd and opponent of Western policies in Ukraine, was criticized this Wednesday by several diplomats in the United Nations (UN) Security Council after claiming that the Russian invasion was provoked.
Waters addressed the Security Council as a “civil peace activist” at the invitation of Russia, which convened this meeting to discuss increased Western arms supplies to Ukraine.
Despite opining that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was “illegal”, Waters stressed via video conference that it cannot be said that “it did not happen without provocation”.
“I therefore condemn the provocateurs in the strongest possible terms,” he said, further suggesting that the five permanent members of the Security Council – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – have an interest in “major profits for war industries.” “.
The musician’s words did not please some of the diplomats present, such as the Japanese ambassador, who stated that the purpose of the Council is not to profit from the war, but to restore the dignity of the Ukrainian people.
One of the most critical voices was that of Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, who complained that the musician had become a transmitter of Russian propaganda. “How sad for his former fans to see him accept that he is just another brick in the wall, in the wall of misinformation and Russian propaganda,” Kyslytsya said, referring to the lyrics of the famous Pink Floyd song ” Another Brick in the Wall”. “. .
“I’m surprised you didn’t blow up a pig-shaped balloon in the Security Council chamber today, as you do at so many of your shows. What would it have been like this time, Mr. Waters? and sickle?” Ukrainian diplomatic representative.
Waters based his speech on general calls for peace, often using the phrase “We the people”, recalling that wars are “destroying the planet” and calling for “giving up the arms race”.
Albania’s ambassador, Ferit Hoxha, reminded Waters that if the musician was in Russia, saying he condemns the attack, he would probably already be “in custody”.
Hoxa also stressed that the weapons supplied to Ukraine helped limit the aspirations of Russia and “anyone who might be tempted to use force rather than peaceful means”.
U.S. Deputy Representative to the UN Richard M. Mills acknowledged Waters’ abilities as a musician, but felt that “his qualifications to speak before the Security Council as an expert on arms control or European security.”
On the other hand, the speech of the British was used by the Russian ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, who praised the musician’s “strong appeal” against the war.
Nebenzya warned of the constant flow of weapons from European countries to Ukraine, saying that this supply is forcing Western countries to increase their defense budgets and thereby enrich the arms industry.
The Russian diplomat reiterated that the “current regime in Kiev is a pet project of several Western countries”, which are trying to “weaken and undermine Russia”.
He also blamed the countries supplying long-range artillery and missile systems to Ukraine for the deaths of the civilian population in the Donbass region (eastern Ukraine), “who live in places where before the artillery of the Ukrainian armed forces could not reach” .
Still on the issue of weapons, Western ambassadors criticized Russia for talking about the dangers of escalating arms power, when it is proven, as they claimed, that Moscow resorted to Iranian “drones”, North Korean missiles and all kinds of military weapons. assistance from Belarus.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
Source: DN
