Malta’s UN representative joins diplomats in snub of Russian foreign minister

Malta's UN permanent representative Chris Grima joined more than 140 diplomats, who walked out of a UN Human Rights Council meeting addressed by the Russian foreign minister.

Taking to social media UN President Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger said that more than 140 diplomats refused to listen to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s futile attempt to justify unacceptable military aggression against Ukraine.

Lavrov addressed the council remotely. The foreign minister was due to attend in person, however, he could not due to EU states blocking their airspace to Russian aircraft.

In his speech at the Conference on Disarmament, Lavrov meanwhile blamed Kyiv for the crisis and said Ukraine was trying to assemble nuclear weapons.

"I can assure you, Russia as a responsible member of the international community... is taking all necessary measures to prevent the emergence of nuclear weapons and related technologies in Ukraine," he said.

Grima was first appointed as permanent representative of Malta to the United Nations in 2012.

On Tuesday, new satellite imagery showed that a large Russian military convoy stretching for about 64 kilometres was heading toward Ukraine’s capital Kyiv.

Russian forces also targeted Ukraine's second city Kharkiv with a missile strike targeting the regional government's headquarters. 

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