Voice of Ukraine

From: New Voice of Ukraine 🇺🇦

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declined a visit from UN Secretary-General António Guterresdue to Guterres’s recent trip to Russia, AFP reports, citing sources within the President’s Office.

“After Kazan, [Guterres] wanted to come to Ukraine, but the president did not confirm his visit. Therefore, Guterres will not be here, precisely because of the affront to common sense and international law in Kazan,” an official told the agency.

Guterres arrived in Kazan on Oct. 23, coinciding with the start of a three-day BRICS summit. His visit drew sharp criticism from Western countries, which pointed out that while Guterres attended the Kazan summit in person, he only joined the Lebanon Conference in Paris via video link. Critics also noted his absence from the peace summit held in Switzerland in June.

In response, the UN Secretary-General’s office defended the visit, stating that Guterres has previously participated in BRICS meetings, and that the forum is significant globally and “cannot be ignored.”

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the visit, calling it “harmful to the UN’s reputation and unhelpful to peace efforts.”