Pink Floyd co-founding member Roger Waters drew criticism from Ukraine on Wednesday after he said Russia's invasion was illegal but "not unprovoked".
The legendary British musician, 79, had been invited by Russia to speak to the UN Security Council when he equivocated on the causes of the war.
"The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation was illegal. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms," Waters said.
But then he added: "Also the Russian invasion of Ukraine was not unprovoked. So I also condemn the provocateurs in the strongest possible terms.
Ukraine's ambassador to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, criticised Waters's comments.
"How sad for his former fans to see him accepting the role of just a brick in the wall, a wall of Russian disinformation and propaganda," Mr Kyslytsya said, in a reference to Pink Floyd's classic hit Another Brick In the Wall.
Waters also took a swipe at the Security Council for its inability to take action on many issues.
“If this is a toothless chamber,” he said, referring to the veto power of the council's five permanent members.
“I can open my big mouth on behalf of the voiceless, without fear of my head getting bitten off. How cool is that?”
Last September, Waters was declared "persona non grata" by the Polish city of Krakow after his concerts were scrapped there because of his war stance.
He wrote an open letter that month saying the West should stop providing arms to Kyiv, accusing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of allowing "extreme nationalism" in Ukraine, and urging him to "put an end to this deadly war," AFP reported.
Albania’s UN ambassador, Ferit Hoxha, told the chamber that Waters was “lucky” to be speaking in a free country.
“If he had been in Russia, with what he said, he might have been in custody by now,” Mr Hoxha said.
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More on Quran memorisation:
Manchester City (0) v Liverpool (3)
Uefa Champions League, quarter-final, second leg
Where: Etihad Stadium
When: Tuesday, 10.45pm
Live on beIN Sports HD
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
