Western diplomats slam Russia's Sergey Lavrov during UN meeting

 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
(Image credit: Michael M. Santiago / Staff/ Getty Images)

Western diplomats on Monday criticized Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a face-to-face session hosted at the United Nations Security Council "for his country's unprovoked assault on Ukraine," CNN reports.

Lavrov was hosting the meeting, titled "Maintenance of international peace and security," because Russia is currently holding the rotating presidency of the Security Council. "The last time Russia presided over the Security Council was February 2022, when it launched its invasion of Ukraine," CNN writes.

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"Our hypocritical convener today, Russia, invaded its neighbor, Ukraine, and struck at the heart of the U.N. Charter. This illegal, unprovoked, and unnecessary war runs directly counter to our most shared principles — that a war of aggression and territorial conquest is never, ever acceptable," Thomas-Greenfield said.

In his opening remarks, Lavrov responded to the criticism "by defending his country's military action and accusing the U.S. and its allies of undercutting global diplomacy, the foundation of the United Nations, which was created to prevent a third world war," The Associated Press summarizes.

He also condemned the "United States and its allies" for "abandoning diplomacy and demanding clarification of relations on the battlefield."

Representatives from about 50 countries spoke, taking care to highlight the rising confrontation among U.N. member nations. The countries stressed "the importance of preserving multilateralism," including by "reforming the Security Council to reflect the 21st century world instead of the post-World War II power structure," AP adds.

Theara Coleman, The Week US

Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.