Russia won't participate in special session of UNHRC on Ukraine

MOSCOW - The Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that Russia has chosen not to participate in an upcoming special session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Ukraine, calling the event biased.

"Unfortunately, our arguments and explanations with regard to the true goals of the special military operation and the situation on the ground are being completely ignored," the country's foreign ministry said in a statement, citing spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

The UNHRC announced Monday that it will hold a special session on Thursday "to address the deteriorating human rights situation in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression."

"The Russian delegation will not legitimize another biased political show with its presence," Zakharova was quoted as saying.

She also said that the West had traditionally used human rights to pursue their own interests through opportunistic behavior.

The UNHRC seems not to be bothered that its reputation could be discredited, and the body has turned into a "closed club of genuine democracies" that imposes rules on the rest of the world and punishes those who violate them, according to the spokesperson.