Roger Waters: speech at the UN condemned by the former star of Pink Floyd of Ukraine

Roger Waters: speech at the UN condemned by the former star of Pink Floyd of Ukraine
Pink Floyd star Roger Waters has used a speech at the United Nations to repeat his bold claim that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was "provocative".
The Russians invited the musician to address the UN Security Council. He called for an end to the conflict and condemned the "illegal" attack by Russia, and also condemned the "provocators" in the West who he said were responsible.
Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya called Waters' speech "another brick in the wall" of Russian propaganda. Russia asked Waters to address the 15-nation security group following an interview with a German newspaper, in which he praised Vladimir Putin's leadership.
But the 79-year-old singer, who showed up with his dog, surprised his fans by changing his stance on the battle. "The Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine was illegal. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms," he said via video link. "Also, Russia's attack on Ukraine was unprovoked, so I strongly condemn those who provoked it."
• Roger Waters' concert has been canceled after anger in Ukraine
Instead of representing Russia's point of view, the musician said he was talking about "about four billion brothers and sisters" - the majority of the world's population.
He continued: “What do the voiceless millions have to say? They said thank you for hearing from us today. Most of us do not share in the profits of the military industry. “We are not voluntarily raising our sons and daughters to feed your guns.
"In our view, the only reasonable course of action today is to call for an immediate end to the conflict in Ukraine. No other Ukrainian or Russian life will pass, not one, they are all precious to us. "


Russia's UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya weighed in on what the musician said about the illegal attack.
The diplomat praised "a thorough investigation of events" and reiterated his belief that the West is attacking his country. The rest of the team took it lightly.
Deputy UN Ambassador to the US Richard Mills said: “I really understand that he has some incredible credentials as a recording artist. His approach to us as an expert commentator on arms control or European security issues seems clear to me. "


"Enmity, if not hypocrisy"
Ukrainian M. Kyslytsya turned on Pink Floyd's music in his response, stating that the Soviet Union had already banned the group for protesting its invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.
"It is absurd, if not hypocritical, that Mr Waters is trying to whitewash another attack," Mr Kyslytsya said. "How sad it is for his former supporters to see him accept the role of another brick in the wall - the wall of Russian propaganda and propaganda."
President Putin has repeatedly mentioned NATO expansion and Ukraine's willingness to participate in the invasion. But countries in Eastern Europe want to join the defense alliance as a defense against Russia, while Sweden and Finland only asked to join after the February 2022 attack. Albania's UN representative, Ferit Hoxha, said that the First Marine Band released a song in support of Ukraine last year.
This departure deepened the rift between Waters and Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. In an interview with the Berliner Zeitung, Waters said, "I find this very sad. This promotes the continuation of the war. "Pink Floyd is a name I'm associated with... To associate that name now with something like this proxy war hurts me."



The dark side of the moon is back
In response to that statement and Waters' comments about Israel in recent years, Gilmour's wife, Polly Samson, tweeted this week that Waters is a "Putin supporter" and "anti-Semitic to the core." Gilmour confirmed his wife's statement, adding, "Every word is true."
Waters called Samson's comments "offensive and wrong", and said he "absolutely" forgave them.
In another social faux pas, Waters told The Telegraph that he re-recorded Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side Of The Moon to get it back from its original band. "I wrote The Dark Side of the Moon," he said. "Let's get rid of all this "we" rage. Of course, we're one - there's four of us, we all contributed - but it's my job and I wrote it, so it's good."
According to the album's official credits, Waters wrote all the songs and contributed vocals to five of the ten songs.
In an interview with the Telegraph, the musician ripped his team, including keyboardist Rick Wright, saying they "couldn't write" music. "Well Nick [Mason, drummer] didn't. But Gilmour and Rick? They can't write music, they have nothing to say.
"They are not artists. They have no idea - there is no unity among them. They don't have one yet, and it's driving them crazy. "