From NPR/AP:
“A Russian diplomat to the
U.N. quits, saying he is ashamed of his country”
A veteran Russian diplomat to the
U.N. Office at Geneva says he handed in his resignation before sending out a
scathing letter to foreign colleagues inveighing against the "aggressive
war unleashed" by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine. Boris
Bondarev, 41, confirmed his resignation in a letter delivered Monday morning
after a diplomatic official passed on his English-language statement to The
Associated Press. "For twenty years of my diplomatic career I have seen
different turns of our foreign policy, but never have I been so ashamed of my
country as on Feb. 24 of this year," he wrote, alluding to the date of
Russia's invasion.
The resignation amounts to a rare
— if not unprecedented — public admission of disgruntlement about Russia's war
in Ukraine among the Russian diplomatic corps. It comes at a time when Putin's
government has sought to crack down on dissent over the invasion and quell
narratives that conflict with the Russian government's line about how the
"special military operation" — as it's officially known in Russia —
is proceeding. "The aggressive war unleashed by Putin against Ukraine, and
in fact against the entire Western world, is not only a crime against the
Ukrainian people, but also, perhaps, the most serious crime against the people
of Russia, with a bold letter Z crossing out all hopes and prospects for a
prosperous and free society in our country," Bondarev wrote, referring to
the widespread use of the letter "Z" as a symbol of support for
Russia's war in Ukraine. Reached by phone, Bondarev — a diplomatic counselor
who has focused on Russia's role in the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva
after postings in places like Cambodia and Mongolia — confirmed he handed in
his resignation in a letter addressed to Ambassador Gennady Gatilov.
A spokesman for the mission
didn't immediately respond to AP requests seeking comment. "It is
intolerable what my government is doing now," Bondarev told the AP.
"As a civil servant, I have to carry a share of responsibility for that.
And I don't want to do that." Bondarev said he had not received any
reaction yet from Russian officials, but added: "Am I concerned about the
possible reaction from Moscow? I have to be concerned about it."
He told the AP that he had no
plans to leave Geneva. Previously, he said he had expressed disapproval of the
war to Russian colleagues. "Some said, 'Everybody disagrees, but we have
to keep working' while others replied 'Shut up and stop spreading this bad
influence– especially among younger diplomats,'" he recalled. Asked if
some colleagues felt the same, Bondarev said: "Not all Russian diplomats
are warmongering. They are reasonable, but they have to keep their mouths
shut." He suggested his case could become an example. "If my case is
prosecuted, then if other people want to follow, they would not," Bondarev
said. Asked if he planned to defect, he chuckled and said, "I didn't think
so far" ahead.
(Copy of his Statement)
In his English-language
statement, which he said he emailed to about 40 diplomats and others, Bondarev
said those who conceived the war "want only one thing — to remain in power
forever, live in pompous tasteless palaces, sail on yachts comparable in
tonnage and cost to the entire Russian Navy, enjoying unlimited power and
complete impunity." He railed against the growing "lies and
unprofessionalism" at Russia's Foreign Ministry and took particular aim at
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "In 18 years, he (Lavrov) went from a
professional and educated intellectual ... to a person who constantly
broadcasts conflicting statements and threatens the world with nuclear
weapons!" he wrote. "Today, the (Russian) Ministry of Foreign Affairs
is not about diplomacy. It is all about warmongering, lies and hatred."
Hiller Neuer, executive director
of the advocacy group U.N. Watch, tweeted a copy of Bondarev's letter and said
simply: "Boris Bondarev is a hero." "Bondarev should be invited
to speak in Davos this week," he added, referring to the World Economic
Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. "The U.S., the U.K. and the
(European Union) should lead the free world in creating a program to encourage
more Russian diplomats to follow and defect, by providing protection, financial
security and resettlement for diplomats and their families."
In his email, Bondarev wrote that
he should have resigned earlier, but didn't because of "some unfinished
family business" and because he needed to "gather my resolve." "It's
been already three months since my government launched a bloody assault on
Ukraine and it's been very hard to keep my mind more or less sane when all
about were losing theirs," he wrote.
^ Waiting 3 months since the
Russians invaded Ukraine to resign is not a good sign of morality, but of
desperation. Of course since he was already outside of Russia it was easier for
him to do. Still, he did resign and publicly speak out against the Russian War
and the Russian Government. ^
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/23/1100731559/russian-diplomat-un-quits-ashamed
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