Roger Waters has referred to as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “illegal” however stated the struggle was “not unprovoked”.
The former Pink Floyd member spoke on the United Nations Security Council assembly earlier in the present day (February 8), after being requested to take action by Russian officers.
After talking extra broadly about struggle, its results on residents and the atmosphere, and extra, Waters shared his ideas on the present struggle in Ukraine. The musician and activist stated he would “endeavour to express what I believe to be the feelings of countless of our brothers and sisters across the world”.
“The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation was illegal and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms,” Waters stated. “Also, the Russian invasion was not unprovoked, so I also condemn the provocateurs in the strongest possible terms. There – that’s got that out of the way.”
Elsewhere within the speech, the star warned that sacrificing the folks for earnings or world domination would “lead only to disaster”. “Everyone on that road has a red button in their briefcase,” he stated. “The further we go down that road, the closer the itchy fingers get to that red button and the closer we all get to armageddon.”
He additionally responded to feedback mocking his look on the council, during which an nameless council member requested: “What next – Mr Bean?”
“To those who don’t know, Mr Bean is an ineffectual character in an English comedy show on television, so it’s a penny to a pound the anonymous diplomat is an Englishman,” Waters scoffed.
He concluded the speech by telling the Security Council: “In our opinion, the only sensible option is to call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine – no ifs, no buts, no ands. Not one more Ukrainian or Russian life is to be spent, not one – they are all precious in our eyes.”
Watch Waters’ speech within the livestream above.
The musician’s look on the assembly follows his writing of an open letter to Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska in September, during which he weighed in on the Western provide of weapons to Ukraine. Responding to Zelenska’s requires “strong” help from the West, Waters wrote: “If by ‘support for Ukraine’ you mean the West continuing to supply arms to the Kiev government’s armies, I fear you may be tragically mistaken. Throwing fuel, in the form of armaments, into a fire fight… won’t work”.
Recently, he additionally criticised his former Pink Floyd bandmates for releasing the charity single ‘Hey Hey Rise Up’ final yr, which raised funds for humanitarian charities working to assist these affected by the struggle. “It encourages the continuation of the war,” Waters stated. “To associate [Pink Floyd] now with something like this… proxy war makes me sad.”
Waters’ feedback drew criticism from his former bandmate David Gilmour and his spouse, creator Polly Samson. The latter shared a tweet branding Waters as “a Putin apologist”, calling him a “lying, thieving, hypocritical, tax-avoiding, lip-synching, misogynistic, sick-with-envy, megalomaniac.” Glimour later re-shared the tweet with the caption: “every word [is] demonstrably true”.
Waters himself issued an announcement in response to Samson’s feedback, saying he “refutes [them] entirely” and that they’re “incendiary and wildly inaccurate”. The musician stated he’s “taking advice as to his position” relating to Samson’s claims.