After days of speeches by world leaders taking subtle and not-so-subtle shots at Russia over its invasion of Ukraine during the annual UN General Assembly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attended the Security Council on Thursday. He arrived minutes before he was due to speak, without US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s earlier remarks criticizing Moscow for what the American described as war crimes and other atrocities. And then it was Lavrov’s turn to speak, and he did so for several minutes, repeating his country’s frequent claims that Kyiv has long oppressed Russian-speakers and that Western support for Ukraine poses a threat to Moscow. All the while, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was looking on. In that brief moment, the world witnessed something rare: The top diplomats of two nations at war in the same room. They didn’t talk to each other, instead sobbing – or passing – each other. Kuleba even teased before the meeting that he would maintain “social distancing.” Lavrov said that US policy towards the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is based on the rationale that “he’s a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch”. Kuleba then chided Russia for “inappropriate slang.” And then, the moment ended as quickly as it began. As soon as Lavrov finished his speech, he was gone in a flash.
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