Russian delegation leaves UN General Assembly in protest

Most of the Russian delegation left the UN General Assembly in protest against Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s speech. Only one Russian delegate remained in the hall. One of the Russian diplomats told the news agency TASS that one person was left behind because “the Russian side has the habit of listening to its opponents and not leaving their speeches without due attention.”

Petro Poroshenko was initially scheduled to be the 14th to give a speech at the summit, but he ended up being the 26th to speak, taking up a spot right before Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

In his speech, Poroshenko blamed Russia for the war in eastern Ukraine, for annexing Crimea, and for the rise in ecological and epidemiological threats in the east of Ukraine. 

“We left the hall in protest against an explicitly politicized and aggressive speech which did not have anything to do with the topic of the summit,” emphasized the source.

The UN General Assembly is convening in New York this week.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will give a speech at the UN General Assembly on September 28. According to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, he will speak about sanctions, the situation in Syria, and Ukraine.

Putin will meet with Obama on the sidelines of the summit on September 28.