US diplomats left the chamber when France’s delegation began speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on Russia’s war in Ukraine on Monday. The walkout came two days after a virtual dispute between US and French officials over a vote to renew UN human rights chief Volker Türk’s four-year term.

On Saturday, France’s UN mission in Geneva said the United States was no longer a beacon of human rights and had isolated itself alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali and Russia. US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz responded on X that France had backed a human rights chief who lectures free, sovereign democracies including the United States, Britain and Israel while building ties with oppressors.

After the walkout, US alternate representative Dan Negrea told the Security Council that the US delegation would continue leaving while France did not withdraw what he called insulting and disrespectful remarks. French Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont did not address the walkout, saying France was working to protect the UN’s independence and ability to function. Türk was reappointed by a 144-10 General Assembly vote, with 13 abstentions.