Scuffle breaks out between Ukrainian and Russian delegates at Turkey summit

ANKARA: A scuffle broke out between Ukrainian and Russian delegates at a summit in Turkey on Thursday, state-run news agency Anadolu reported.

A video posted by Anadolu shows the delegates shoving each other after Ukrainian representatives unfurled their national flag and shouted anti-Russia slogans behind a member of the Russian delegation, Olga Timofeeva, while she was speaking at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) meeting in Ankara.

“A scuffle broke out between Ukrainian and Russian delegates at a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) in Turkiye’s capital Ankara. Tensions boiled over after Ukrainians interrupted a Russian official’s speech”, Anadolu News Agency tweeted.

Another video posted to social media showed Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Marikovskyi punching a Russian representative in a separate altercation after he tore down the Ukrainian flag on the sidelines of the conference. Marikovskyi reposted the video to his Facebook account and wrote that Russians should keep their hands off Ukraine and the Ukrainian Flag.

A Ukrainian delegate was holding his country's flag during a meeting of Black Sea countries in Turkey when Russia's delegation secretary snatched it, prompting the Ukraine member to punch him. pic.twitter.com/ZvOioQo3GB

— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 5, 2023

The Speaker of Turkey’s National Assembly, Mustafa Sentop, condemned the disruptions, calling the actions “unfortunate” and “unacceptable” on Twitter. The PABSEC aims to promote economic, political and cultural cooperation among its 13 member countries of the Black Sea region, including Russia and Ukraine. (ANI)