Sweden's foreign ministry announced yesterday that "certain criteria" had been set for when EU delegates would leave the chamber during Iranian President Ahmadinejad's speech to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, and that Ahmadinejad did not cross the "red line" which would have prompted a walkout by all EU states, AFP reports. Yet Germany, Poland, the Netherlands and Italy decided to boycott the event from the start, and the Czech delegation walked out at the opening of the speech, with Britain, France and Hungary following. The Swedish delegation did not walk out, and remained in the chamber throughout the entire speech.
Update: Finland's UN Ambassador, Jarmo Viinanen, was present at the UN General Assembly during Ahmadinejad's speech. According to the Secretary for the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Katariina Prepula, "Finland was present during the Iranian president's speech due to following the EU's Common Instructions". (via TT)
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