Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry expressed sharp criticism of U.N. Secretary General António Guterres on Monday, accusing him of accepting an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend a BRICS summit in Russia while skipping Ukraine’s “peace summit” on the war.
The Ministry, in a post on X, said: “The U.N. Secretary General declined Ukraine’s invitation to the first Global Peace Summit in Switzerland but accepted an invitation to Kazan from war criminal Putin. This harms the U.N.’s credibility.”
The BRICS summit, hosted by Putin, will take place in Kazan and feature key leaders like Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, U.N. officials have yet to confirm Guterres’ attendance.
Ukraine had previously held a peace summit in Switzerland with over 90 countries, condemning Russia’s invasion, although Russia declined to participate.