Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has refused to meet in Kyiv with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres because of his visit to the Russian city of Kazan, where he attended the meeting of BRICS, reported France Press.
"After Kazan, he (Guterres) wanted to come to Ukraine, but the president did not confirm the visit", due to the "humiliation" caused to international law in Kazan, said a high-ranking official of the Ukrainian presidency.
Antonio Guterres met yesterday with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, which was also attended by the leaders of India and China. In his conversation with the Russian president, the UN Secretary General reiterated his "position that the Russian invasion of Ukraine" is a "violation" of international law, according to a statement from his spokesman.
So far, the Kremlin has not announced anything about the private conversation.
Before the conversation with Putin, Guterres had again appealed to the participants of the BRICS forum for a just peace in Ukraine. Even before Guterres' bilateral meeting with Putin, however, Kiev criticized the "bad choice" of Guterres to visit Kazan. According to the Ukrainian authorities, this "has only damaged the reputation of the UN".