-924c3c302c27387e19f6c44aaeb98745.png "Maryna Kulakova")
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticized UN Secretary-General António Guterres's visit to the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia. Zelenskyy made his remarks on Thursday, October 24, during his evening address.
"On United Nations Day, it is crucial that the world remembers the goals and principles of the UN Charter and the purpose of this organization. Even if some officials prefer the allure of Kazan over the substance of the UN Charter, our world is structured so that the rights of nations and international legal norms matter and will continue to matter," Zelenskyy stated.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also condemned Guterres's plan to attend the BRICS summit in Russia.
Meanwhile, the Coalition of Public Organizations "Ukraine. Five in the Morning," along with the Nobel Peace Prize-winning "Center for Civil Liberties," released an open statement condemning Guterres's participation in the summit. The authors and signatories highlighted that there is an active arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Putin, noting that Guterres's meeting with him "undermines the authority of the ICC and the values upon which the UN is founded."
"This action seems to disregard international justice and raises concerns about the UN's neutrality. We call on the international community to respond to this situation and prevent similar violations in the future," the statement asserted.
Additionally, the statement urges the ICC and its Prosecutor's Office to take action regarding Guterres's meeting with Putin. "We request that the Office of the ICC Prosecutor seek from Mr. António Guterres any information obtained during his meeting with the suspect [Vladimir Putin] that may aid the investigation," the signatories added.
The summit took place in Russian Kazan and gathered 36 world leaders, including Taliban Minister of Industry and Trade Nuruddin Azizi, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
