UN Secretary General Guterres’ trip to the Brics summit in Russia was controversial from the start. As host, Kremlin leader Putin got the images he had hoped for. And someone else was happy.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres drew sharp criticism during a visit to Russia over a handshake with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and a warm hug with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. “It is the third year of the war, and the UN Secretary General has shaken the hand of a murderer,” wrote Putin opponent Yulia Navalnaya on the short message service X. She not only blames Putin for the death of her husband Alexei Navalny in a Russian prison camp, but also for the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
Putin has an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for alleged war crimes. Guterres also met Lukashenko, who was decried as Europe’s last dictator, at the summit of emerging economic nations with Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) organized by Putin this year. At one meeting, the 70-year-old shared what appeared to be a warm hug, as shown in a video from the Belarusian state-run Pul Pervowo channel on Telegram.
Lukashenko also presented the 75-year-old with a sculpture made of storks, which are considered a symbol of peace in Belarus. Eastern Europe expert Janis Kluge from the Science and Politics Foundation in Berlin wrote about Guterres at X: “Can someone bring the old man home? He seems confused and these people are taking advantage of him.” Lukashenko also supports Putin in his war against Ukraine. The leadership in Kyiv also sharply criticized Guterres for the trip.
A United Nations statement said Guterres stressed in a conversation with Putin that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine was a violation of the UN Charter and international law. The United Nations is committed to a just peace, it said.
Putin celebrated the summit with representatives from more than 30 countries as a historic event on the path to a new multipolar world order without Western dominance. In addition to Guterres, other guests at the summit also called for a just peace in Ukraine.
Source: Stern
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