The participation of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the BRICS summit in Kazan, as well as his refusal to go to the Ukraine peace summit, is a “mistake”, says Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis.
“Guterres must admit that he was wrong and take responsibility, both when he decided not to go to the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland and now, when he went to see the wanted war criminal Putin and grovelled with both him and his accomplice Lukashenko,” Landsbergis said.
“Guterres is no longer accepted as an honest broker, and if he decides to resign, we would certainly not be the ones to discourage him from doing so,” he added.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė also criticised Guterres for shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin and hugging Belarus’ leader Alexander Lukashenko at the BRICS summit in Kazan.
“Pathetic. There are people in international organisations – and not only in international organisations – who think they can talk with everyone, here and there,” Šimonytė told reporters
“The United Nations is an organisation of all the countries of the world. The United Nations has adopted a number of resolutions in the General Assembly condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and such behaviour is incomprehensible, to say the least,” she said.
At the meeting in Russia, Guterres called for “a just peace” in Ukraine, in line with the UN Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions. He also urged an immediate end to the fighting in Gaza, Lebanon, and Sudan.
Kyiv condemned Guterres’ visit to Russia, and Ukraine’s foreign ministry criticised him for planning to meet with “criminal Putin”.
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