The co-founder of the rock group Pink Floyd Roger Waters, invited by Russia to speak before the UN Security Council, denounced the Russian invasion on Wednesday but also those who provoked it, drawing the ire of Ukraine.
“The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation was illegal. I condemn it in the strongest terms”, the former Pink Floyd said by videoconference.
But “it is not true that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was unprovoked. So I also condemn the provocateurs in the strongest terms,” he added.
“Another brick in the wall”
The British musician, who has been controversial in recent months for his position on the war in Ukraine, also called for an immediate ceasefire, so as not to lose “not a single Ukrainian or Russian life.”
While ironically about a Security Council “without influence”: “this lack of bite is perhaps good news (…), if I can open my mouth without fear of having my head ripped off.” His speech was immediately denounced by the Ukrainian ambassador.
“How sad for his former fans to see him accept being one more brick in the wall, in the wall of disinformation and Russian propaganda,” Sergiy Kyslytsya launched, 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 Council Chamber today, as you do at many of your concerts. What would that have been like this time, Mr Waters, pigs with swastikas, hammer and sickle? ”, He added, calling on the musician to stick to the guitar“ instead of lecturing ”to the Council.
Moscow praises anti-war activist
“Naturally, I recognize (Roger Waters’) impressive credentials as an artist. His qualifications to speak to us as an expert on arms control and security issues in Europe are less obvious,” joked the ambassador, US Rep. Richard Mills.
Russia had requested this meeting to discuss weapons supplied to Ukraine by the West.
By handing over these weapons, “our former Western partners are forcing (Ukraine) to hold out as long as possible without thinking about the losses of the Ukrainian armed forces and putting morality aside,” Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia said.
He praised the intervention of Roger Waters, “one of the most important activists of the contemporary anti-war movement”, seeing it as a sign of “the concern of the international artistic intelligentsia” for the direction the world is taking.
Accused of being an ‘anti-Semite’ and an ‘apologist for Putin’
In an open letter in early September, Roger Waters, 79, wrote that the West should stop supplying Ukraine with weapons and accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of tolerating “extreme nationalism” before ordering him to end “this war.” murderess”.
He was then declared “persona non grata” in Krakow, Poland, and his concerts were cancelled. By contrast, Pink Floyd released their first original song since 1994 last April, in support of the Ukrainian people.
A few days ago, Polly Samson, one of the band’s lyricists, also a partner of their singer and guitarist David Gilmour, called Roger Waters on Twitter “anti-Semite” and “Putin apologist”. Accusations that she rejected “in their entirety” on his Twitter account, denouncing “inflammatory and totally inaccurate comments”.
Source: BFM TV
