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Roger Waters speaks at UN Security Council by Russian invitation and calls for a ceasefire in Ukraine
The Pink Floyd co-founder spoke via video link, and claimed to speak for the “voiceless”.
Image: Justin Berl / Getty
Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters spoke at the UN Security Council yesterday (8 February) after being invited by Russian diplomats, and called for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
His address follows on from remarks made about the news of his contribution, which broke yesterday, by Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia who (according to a report from Reuters), stated, “Let’s see what he will say. He has a position and you will hear it tomorrow” while jokingly adding, “Perhaps he will sing to us, too.”
A UN Security Council diplomat, speaking anonymously, also remarked to the publication: “Russian diplomacy used to be serious. What next? Mr. Bean?”
In his UN address, Waters condemned all violence “in the strongest possible terms,” and stated that he felt Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022, was “not unprovoked”.
Waters claimed to speak for the “billions” of people he deemed “voiceless”, and said: “President Biden, President Putin, President Zelenskyy, USA, NATO, Russia, the EU, all of you, please change course now. Agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine today.”
You can watch the address below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZXMmRg9ZcU
In April of 2022, Pink Floyd released Hey, Hey, Rise Up, a single which sampled a vocal performance from Ukrainian musician Andriy Khlynyuk in support of relief efforts in Ukraine. Waters did not form part of this iteration of the band.