Watch: Diplomats walk out during Sergey Lavrov speeches in protest at Ukraine invasion

Ambassadors and diplomats leave the room while Russia's foreign minister speaks at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on Tuesday. - Copyright AFP or licensors/AFP or licensors

By Euronews

Published on 01/03/2022 - 19:03

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Envoys left en masse as Russia's foreign minister addressed the United Nations in Geneva via video.

Hundreds of diplomats staged walkouts on Tuesday while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was speaking, protesting his country's invasion of Ukraine.

The envoys staged the demonstrations at two different events -- Lavrov's addresses to the UN Human Rights Council and the Conference on Disarmament.

Lavrov spoke by video at the Human Rights Council meeting. He was unable to attend the Human Rights Council due to what he called "outrageous measures by the European Union."

His trip was cancelled because Lavrov's plane would not be able to pass through airspace that the European Union has closed to Russian aviation as part of sanctions against Moscow.

Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin have both been sanctioned by the EU, United States and United Kingdom.

More than 140 envoys walked out during the top Russian diplomat's speech at the Human Rights Council, as they "refused to listen to Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov’s futile attempt to justify unacceptable military aggression," said Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger, Austria's permanent representative to the UN in Geneva.

Photos from the conference on disarmament showed a large portion of the audience leaving as they were shown a pre-recorded address from Lavrov.