During a speech at the BRICS summit, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who embarrassed himself with a visit to Russia, urged Putin to establish a “just peace” in Ukraine that adheres to the UN Charter, international law, and the territorial integrity and political independence of all states.
Guterres-Putin dialogue
Russian president Vladimir Putin responded with a smile to the UN Secretary General’s call and compared the war in Ukraine to a “family conflict.”
“The Secretary General said that we should live as one big family. We are living like that. Unfortunately, families often have quarrels, scandals, and divisions of property. Sometimes it comes to a fight,” Putin said.
The Kremlin dictator continued his propaganda speech by saying that the BRICS aims to create a “favorable atmosphere in a common home.” “We are doing this and will continue to do so. Including in close coordination with the UN,” Putin added.
It means that the Kremlin dictator has referred to the dozens of destroyed cities, hundreds of thousands of dead, millions of refugees, and daily bombardments of cities, including civilian information infrastructure, for almost three years as “a family quarrel.”
Need for a reform of United Nations?
Putin also made a blurred and pretentious statement that “the UN needs a reform to meet the realities of the 21st century”. He did not specify what this term means and how it gives him the right to invade an independent state and bomb Ukrainian cities.
We remind you that on September 18, 2024, Finnish President Alexander Stubb proposed to reform the UN Security Council. According to him, the reform of the UN Security Council should include expanding the membership, abolishing the veto for any state, and excluding any member that “participates in an illegal war,” such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Also, on September 9, 2024, UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis admitted that the UN Security Council is unable to force Russia to comply with international law. Instead, he said, the UN continues to hope and expect that “the Russians will fulfill their obligations.”
Condemnation of Guterres’ meeting with Putin
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres attended the BRICS summit in Russia but disregarded the Ukraine-organized Peace Summit in Switzerland. It sparked harsh criticism from political leaders around the world and from Ukraine.
Deputy Spokesperson for UN Secretary General Farhan Haq responded to criticism of Antonio Guterres, saying that the UN’s position on the war in Ukraine remains unchanged and a visit to the BRICS summit is part of “standard practice.”
“This meeting is of great significance for the UN’s work with the BRICS countries, which make up about half of the world’s population, and the Secretary-General will use the opportunity to hold a series of bilateral meetings with the leaders who will participate in the summit. As for the meeting with Putin, the Secretary-General will reiterate his well-known position on the war in Ukraine and the conditions for a just peace based on the UN Charter, international law, and UN resolutions,” the UN Secretary-General’s office said.
In a joint statement, Ukrainian NGOs condemned the meeting of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres with Vladimir Putin, underscoring that Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court.
“We condemn such actions on the part of Mr. Guterres because, in 2013, guidelines were adopted to regulate possible meetings of UN Secretariat staff with individuals subject to arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court. The Secretary-General transmitted these guidelines to the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council,” the statement said.
Guterres attended BRICS summit but disregarded Ukraine-organized Peace Summit
Kyiv was outraged by the weak explanation provided by the Secretary-General’s office. Antonio Guterres has consistently maintained a restrained position on Ukraine. The UN chief ignored the first peace summit in Switzerland, sending his deputy instead. Afterwards, it appeared that Guterres’s calculations were incorrect. More than 100 countries attended the Global Summit.
“The UN Secretary General declined Ukraine’s invitation to the first Global Peace Summit in Switzerland. However, he accepted Putin’s invitation to Kazan. This is a wrong choice that does not contribute to the cause of peace. It only harms the reputation of the UN,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
BRICS summit’s final declaration vaguely mentions Ukraine
Representatives of the BRICS countries did not raise any objections to the clause about Russia’s war in Ukraine in the joint declaration of the BRICS summit.
The final declaration of the BRICS summit mentions Ukraine once in paragraph 36. The three-sentence paragraph asserts that considering the “national positions” expressed at the UN Security Council and UN General Assembly is crucial for ending the war in Ukraine.
The BRICS countries’ Kazan Declaration also declares that the war in Ukraine must respect international principles and the UN Charter.
This suggests that the BRICS summit did not prioritize ending the war in Ukraine. In this context, the UN Secretary General’s presence only harmed his reputation, and the UN’s statements about “the need for peace based on the UN Charter” remained merely symbolic, extending the list of similar statements devoid of specific actions.