Russian Ambassador Respond to Western Reaction to Ukrainian War

Rabat – Russia’s Ambassador to Morocco Valerian Shuvaev highlighted on March 2 what he described as the hypocritical response of Western diplomats in Morocco to the Ukrainian war, denouncing what he described as a boycott of Morocco’s National Rally of Diplomatic Corps.

In a Facebook post, Shuvaev addressed the embassies of the US, United Kingdom, France, Canada, and Poland in Morocco as well as the EU representation in the north African country.

Starting with a friendly greeting “Dear colleagues, dear friends!”, the Russian ambassador called for the preservation of working and personal relationships. He then addressed the latest responses of the mentioned countries to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Notably, he abstained from labeling the Russian military operation as an invasion.

“Of course I have taken note that in recent days you have undertaken a series of demonstrations against the war and in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, and that, of course, condemning the actions of Russia,” said Shuvaev. “Every normal and adequate person speaks out against war, for me that has a personal dimension,” he added.

Tackling the Western solidarity with Ukraine, he stated that the expression of solidarity is “necessary.”

“But, practice shows that the expression of such feelings carries a rather selective character and the underlying logic of such is not entirely clear,” noted the Russian ambassador.

He referred to the war in former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, and other countries to highlight the difference in Western responses between past wars outside the EU and US, contrasting the Western response to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Appealing to Western ambassadors as friends, the Russian diplomat underlined that the representatives have to represent the instructions of their leaders and states. Yet he recalled that the “task of professional diplomats is to continue the dialogue and to search carefully for solutions, even if the existing contradictions seem insurmountable.”

By the end of his letter, Shuvaev apologized to the organizers of the National Rally of Diplomatic Corps for the boycott by his “Western colleagues.”

The Russian ambassador’s address comes at a time of rising escalation between Russia, Ukraine, and the West on the ground, in UN meetings, and on social media with each side refuting the others’ arguments and pushing their own agendas.

On February 24, the British embassy in Morocco tweeted a picture of the embassy’s facade with Ukraine and Britain’s flags side by side, expressing solidarity with Ukraine against “aggressive and unprovoked Russian attacks.”

Two days later, the official account of the Russian embassy in Morocco replied, “Well, we didn’t know that Ukraine became part of the British Commonwealth! On the other hand, it is now clear who is really controlling the Ukrainian leaders in Kiev who spent the last eight years carrying on genocide of their own people in Donbass.”

Offline on March 1, around 100 diplomats walked out during the speech of Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva to protest Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.

Additionally, 141 countries voted on March 2 for the UN General Assembly resolution decrying the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Morocco, a key trading partner to both nations, abstained from the vote.

Notably, the vote resulted from the security council referring the crisis to the assembly as Russia vetoed the Ukraine resolution. Yesterday, the general assembly held its 11th emergency session and first referred voting by the security council in 40 years.