Dozens walk out as sanctioned Russian politician addresses Geneva parliament speakers' conference – video

Dozens of delegates at the World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments in Geneva have walked out in protest during an address by Valentina Matviyenko, Speaker of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation.

Source: a video posted by Olena Kondratiuk, Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament), as reported by European Pravda 

Details: In the video posted by Kondratiuk, several dozen representatives from various national delegations can be seen exiting the hall as Matviyenko began her speech.

Quote from Kondratiuk: "I am proud of all our partners and colleagues! This is a demarche against the aggressor – this is support for the people of Ukraine!" 

It is not yet known which countries’ representatives took part in the walkout and who stayed in the chamber.

Background: 

• Prior to the conference, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) had called on its partners to boycott any events involving the Russian delegation led by Valentina Matviyenko. 
• Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said that Matviyenko's place is "in the dock, not at international conferences", and that her admission to Geneva "is disgraceful and should never have happened".
• The World Conference of Speakers of Parliament meets once every five years. This is the first time it has been held since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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