Ukraine condemns Guterres for accepting invitation to BRICS summit in Russia

Ukraine blasted U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres early Tuesday for reportedly accepting an invitation to attend a summit in Russia.

“The U.N. Secretary-General declined Ukraine‘s invitation to the first Global Peace Summit in Switzerland. He did, however, accept the invitation to Kazan from war criminal Putin,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on X.

The UN Secretary General declined Ukraine's invitation to the first Global Peace Summit in Switzerland. 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 UN's reputation.

— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) October 21, 2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin will host the 16th BRICS summit on Oct. 22-24 in Russia’s city of Kazan, where 32 countries have confirmed their participation, with 24 being represented by their heads of state, while the remaining eight will send high-ranking officials.

Although Guterres’ participation has not been made public yet, the ministry said: “This is a wrong choice that does not advance the cause of peace. It only damages the U.N.’s reputation.”

When U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq was asked on Monday if Guterres would attend the meeting, he said “announcements on his future travels will be later on down the line.”

Major topics at the summit are likely to include economic cooperation, trade agreements and the challenges faced by BRICS members, such as geopolitical tensions, the global economic slowdown and climate change.

Russia will likely highlight multilateralism, using the BRICS platform to counter Western-dominated global governance structures.