Ukraine blasts U.N.’s Guterres over invitation to BRICS summit in Russia

(Reuters) – Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry blasted U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday for what it said was his acceptance of an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin to a BRICS summit, while staying away from a “peace summit” on the war in Ukraine.

“The U.N. Secretary General declined Ukraine’s invitation to the first Global Peace Summit in Switzerland,” the ministry said in a post on the X social media platform.

“He did, however, accept the invitation to Kazan from war criminal Putin. This is a wrong choice that does not advance the cause of peace. It only damages the U.N.’s reputation.”

Putin hosts a summit of BRICS nations in the central Russian city of Kazan from Tuesday, aimed at showcasing the clout of non-Western countries. Leaders attending include Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman earlier this month said Guterres had told Minister Sergei Lavrov at the U.N. General Assembly last month that he intended to go to Kazan.

But deputy U.N. spokesperson Farham Haq, when asked on Monday if Guterres would attend, said: “Announcements on his future travels will be later on down the line.”

The peace summit in a Swiss mountain resort in June, which brought together more than 90 countries, denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and sought a way to end the conflict, though Russia was not invited and dismissed it as meaningless.

Ukrainian President Voldoymyr Zelenskiy says he wants to stage a second summit by the end of the year, but Russia has said it has no intention of attending.

Guterres said at the time he would not attend the Swiiss-organised meeting, though the U.N. was represented.

(Reporting by Ron Popeski and by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)