President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has refused to allow UN Secretary-General António Guterres to visit Kyiv because of his meeting with Putin at the BRICS summit, AFP reported, citing a source in the Office of the President of Ukraine.
According to Barron's, at the BRICS summit organised by Russia in Kazan, Guterres on Thursday asked for a ‘just peace’ in Ukraine, calling in his speech to Putin to end the war.
But his attendance at a meeting of 20 world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi - the biggest diplomatic event in Russia since Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 - sparked outrage in Kyiv.
‘After Kazan, (Guterres) wanted to come to Ukraine, but the president did not confirm this visit. Therefore, Guterres will not be here, precisely because of the humiliation of common sense and international law in Kazan,’ the source said.
During his talks with Putin in Kazan, Guterres reiterated that ‘Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a violation of the UN Charter and international law,’ the UN said in a statement.
Ahead of the bilateral talks, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry criticised Guterres' decision to visit Kazan and noted that he did not attend the peace summit that Ukraine hosted in Switzerland in June.
‘This is a wrong choice that does not contribute to the cause of peace. It only damages the reputation of the UN,’ the statement said.