President Volodymyr Zelensky may have declined to host UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Ukraine.
This information is reported by AFP, citing sources within the Office of the President.
Antonio Guterres in Russia at the BRICS summitThe source indicates that Guterres' trip to the BRICS summit in Russia is the reason for this decision. Ukraine has already expressed its outrage regarding this matter and reminded that the UN Secretary-General ignored the first Global Peace Summit in Switzerland.
Officially, there has been no comment from Zelensky regarding Guterres' refusal.
During the ongoing full-scale Russian invasion, Guterres has already met with Putin. This meeting took place in April 2022 and was also met with public outrage, as he first traveled to Russia and only afterward to Ukraine. In light of this, people signed a petition urging UN officials to establish a humanitarian corridor from Mariupol or resign.
It is worth noting that Ukraine calls for a transformation of the system centered around the United Nations.
Recently, Guterres was declared a persona non grata and banned from entering Israel due to his response to the Hamas attack on the country. The UN holds both sides accountable.