SUBSCRIBE NOW

Zelensky rejects UN chief's visit to Kyiv over Russia trip: Ukraine presidency source

President Volodymyr Zelensky
This handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential press service shows President Volodymyr Zelensky speaking during the awarding ceremony for soldiers in Kyiv on 22 April 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Handout / UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / AFP
Published on

President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected a visit to Ukraine by Antonio Guterres over the UN chief's participation in a summit hosted in Russia, a high-ranking source in the Ukrainian presidency told AFP on Friday.

At the BRICS summit hosted by Russia in the city of Kazan, Guterres pleaded on Thursday for a "just peace" in Ukraine, calling in a speech in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin for an end to more than two years of fighting.

But his participation at the meeting of 20 global leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- the largest diplomatic event in Russia since Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 -- sparked ire in Kyiv.

"After Kazan, (Guterres) wanted to come to Ukraine, but the president did not confirm his visit. So Guterres won't be here, specifically because of the humiliation of sanity and international law in Kazan," the source said.

During talks with Putin in Kazan, Guterres reiterated that the "Russian invasion of Ukraine was in violation of the United Nations Charter and international law," according to a UN statement.

Ahead of those bilateral talks, the Ukrainian foreign ministry criticised the decision from Guterres to visit Kazan and pointed out he had not attended a peace summit hosted by Ukraine in Switzerland in June.

"This is a wrong choice that does not advance the cause of peace. It only damages the UN's reputation," the statement read.

President Volodymyr Zelensky
Zelensky: N. Korea training 10,000 troops to fight in Ukraine

Latest Stories

No stories found.
logo
Daily Tribune
tribune.net.ph