Delegates from Canada, the United States and three other nations have staged a walkout when a representative from Russia began his opening remarks at a meeting of trade ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group in Bangkok.

The officials from Canada, the U.S, Japan, Australia and New Zealand said they acted to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Western nations have imposed tough diplomatic and economic sanctions on Moscow but many of APEC members especially in Southeast Asia and Latin America have distanced themselves from such moves. The war in Ukraine has raised major trade issues because it has disrupted supply chains, especially in the food sector.

The delegates returned after Russia’s Minister for Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov delivered his remarks.