Lavrov was supposed to have physically attended Tuesday’s conference in Geneva, but due to Western sanctions he had to stay home and deliver his speech digitally. The same was true for the meeting of the UN Human Rights Council.

– Today, the danger posed by the regime of Zelenskyi (President of Ukraine) to neighboring countries and to international security has increased considerably after the Kyiv authorities launched a dangerous game linked to the plans to acquire their own nuclear weapons, Lavrov said in a video address at the UN conference on disarmament.

left the room

During the speech, the other participants in the meeting turned their backs on the screen in protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

When Lavrov addressed the UN Human Rights Council on the same day, dozens of representatives protested as they left the room. The Russian Foreign Minister took advantage of the speaking time to read a long statement in which he justified the attack on Ukraine by accusing the neighboring country of human rights violations.

Among other things, he claimed that Ukraine had been terrorizing the Russian minority in Ukraine for years. He also said Western countries supported this, and referred to the US, Canada and the EU, among others.

No document

Lavrov provided no documentation to support the claim that Ukraine is trying to acquire nuclear weapons. Last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) determined that it had seen no signs that Ukraine wanted to use its nuclear program to acquire weapons.

Lavrov also accused NATO of luring Ukraine into its orbit by supplying it with weapons. In addition, he complained that the defense alliance is unwilling to give Russia long-term security guarantees, including ruling out eastward expansion.