Current:Home > MarketsUkrainian delegate punches Russian rep who grabbed flag amid tense talks in Turkey over grain deal-LoTradeCoin
Ukrainian delegate punches Russian rep who grabbed flag amid tense talks in Turkey over grain deal
View Date:2024-12-23 23:51:43
United Nations – A bawdy fistfight and slap-fest erupted between delegates from Ukraine and Russia in Ankara, Turkey, on Thursday in the corridors of talks on Black Sea cooperation. Video of the scuffle was posted on the Facebook page of the Ukrainian delegate, Oleksandr Marikovski, involved in the melee.
"Paws off our flag, paws off Ukraine...," Marikovski says in his post after the confrontation.
The incident took place in the lobby when the Russian delegate's secretary, Valery Stavitskiy, snatched away a Ukraine flag that was being held up for a photo op, and Marikovski grabbed it back, punching and slapping the Russian in the process.
Russia's news agency TASS reported that the consul and a doctor came to the hotel to attend to Stavitsky after the incident.
The video was authenticated by Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.N. Sergiy Kyslytsya, who spoke to CBS News on Friday, asking if Americans or any nation would put up with the taking down of their flag.
Russia's U.N. first Deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy confirmed the video as well, and told CBS News "it was an apex of the whole day" of what he called Ukrainian provocations during the meeting.
Earlier, members of Ukraine's parliament hung a Ukraine flag at their table before Turkey's parliament speaker Mustafa Sentop nixed it and later condemned some of the Ukrainian delegates' "provocative and physically offensive actions."
Both the Ukrainian and Russian U.N. Ambassadors made clear that the meeting where the fight took place was not at the talks in Istanbul, Turkey, also taking place on Friday, where the U.N., Turkey, Ukraine and Russia are meeting to try to salvage the grain deal that is up for renewal on May 18.
The scuffles come as the top United Nations trade representative, Rebeca Grynspan, arrived in Moscow to assuage Russia on its complaints about the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the U.N. confirmed to CBS News on Friday morning.
On the grain deal, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres sent letters to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week to propose an "expansion" and "improvement" of the deal, but has not heard back on the proposal.
- In:
- Ukraine
- Russia
Pamela Falk is the CBS News correspondent covering the United Nations, and an international lawyer.
TwitterveryGood! (84)
Related
- 'Underbanked' households more likely to own crypto, FDIC report says
- Basketball powers Kansas and North Carolina will face each other in home-and-home series
- Judge overseeing Trump documents case sets Aug. 14 trial date, but date is likely to change
- Grief and tangled politics were at the heart of Kentucky's fight over new trans law
- AP Top 25: Oregon remains No. 1 as Big Ten grabs 4 of top 5 spots; Georgia, Miami out of top 10
- Greenland’s Melting: Heat Waves Are Changing the Landscape Before Their Eyes
- Duracell With a Twist: Researchers Find Fix for Grid-Scale Battery Storage
- Strep is bad right now — and an antibiotic shortage is making it worse
- Brands Our Editors Are Thankful For in 2024
- Collapsed section of Interstate 95 to reopen in 2 weeks, Gov. Josh Shapiro says
Ranking
- Blake Snell free agent rumors: Best fits for two-time Cy Young winner
- Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes Run Half Marathon Together After Being Replaced on GMA3
- Gerard Piqué Gets Cozy With Girlfriend Clara Chia Marti After Shakira Breakup
- Sherri Shepherd tributes 'The View' co-creator Bill Geddie: 'He absolutely changed my life'
- NFL Week 11 picks straight up and against spread: Will Bills hand Chiefs first loss of season?
- Ireland is paying up to $92,000 to people who buy homes on remote islands. Here's how it works.
- Human composting: The rising interest in natural burial
- COVID during pregnancy may alter brain development in boys
Recommendation
-
US Diplomats Notch a Win on Climate Super Pollutants With Help From the Private Sector
-
Here are the U.S. cities where rent is rising the fastest
-
This Week in Clean Economy: Wind Power Tax Credit Extension Splits GOP
-
At a Nashville hospital, the agony of not being able to help school shooting victims
-
My Chemical Romance returns with ‘The Black Parade’ tour
-
Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard Celebrate Her Birthday Ahead of Duggar Family Secrets Release
-
All the Bombshell Revelations in The Secrets of Hillsong
-
This Week in Clean Economy: West Coast ‘Green’ Jobs Data Shows Promise