Russian diplomacy scandal: "Chicken Kyiv with mashed potatoes" sparks outrage at UN
8:56 AM EDT, July 10, 2024
Ukrainian media are reporting on a scandal at a reception hosted by the Russian Federation. The formal dinner was organized to celebrate the Russian Federation's taking over of the chairmanship of the United Nations Security Council.
After the United Nations Security Council session, during which a Russian missile attack on the Ochmatdyt Children's Hospital was discussed, the Russian Federation hosted a reception to mark its presidency of the Security Council.
Ukrainian media are writing extensively about the scandal that occurred during the meeting. The main course on the dinner menu was "chicken Kyiv with mashed potatoes."
"The moral degradation of Russian diplomacy is obvious," commented Serhiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine's ambassador to the UN, in an interview with the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.
"The level of toxicity at the UN headquarters will rise"
According to him, other diplomats openly admit that the need to maintain official relations with the Russian representative at the UN "is becoming unbearable." "Next week, Sergey Lavrov will also come to New York, so the level of toxicity at the UN headquarters will increase even more," he assessed. "It is good that he is not allowed to move freely beyond the radius set by the US authorities," he added.
He also pointed out that the dinner hosted by Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's permanent representative to the UN, was paid for with blood. "I cannot understand how one can shake hands with Nebenzia and accept an invitation to lunch with him, which is paid for with blood money," he said.
On July 1, Russia took over the monthly chairmanship of the UN Security Council for the first time since April 2023.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will chair the UN Security Council debates on July 16 and 17.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) recalls that in April 2023, Russia used its chairmanship of the UN Security Council to spread narratives aiming to shift responsibility for well-documented violations of international law by Russia committed in Ukraine.
