António Guterres angers Ukraine with his gestures at the BRICS meeting

UN Secretary General's shameful attitude towards dictators Putin and Lukashenko

Esp 10·26·2024 · 7:02 0

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António Guterres travels to Russia in the midst of the invasion of Ukraine

This week, UN Secretary-General Portuguese socialist António Guterres arrived in the Russian city of Kazan to participate in the BRICS summit, an international association formed by Brazil, Russia, India, communist China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. This Friday, Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam also joined that organization.

According to the chronicle published by the UN, Guterres said the following in his speech at that BRICS meeting: "We need peace in Ukraine. A just peace in line with the United Nations Charter, international law and the resolutions of the General Assembly." He had there the dictators of the two countries that began the aggression against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin (Russia) and his ally Aleksandr Lukashenko (Belarus), but Guterres was unable to ask them to withdraw from Ukraine, a sovereign and independent country that they have invaded in an openly illegal and unprovoked manner.

Guterres shook Putin's hand and bowed his head to him

As if his attendance at an event organised in Russia and his lukewarm reference to the invasion of Ukraine were not enough, Guterres had no qualms about shaking Putin's hand, as shown in this video released by the Kremlin through its Telegram channel:

Guterres had no problem giving Putin a photo of this handshake, even though the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against the Russian dictator for war crimes in Ukraine.

Moreover, and as shown on the official website of this BRICS meeting (with photos taken by the Russian state media Sputnik), during the joint photo of the international leaders who attended the event, Guterres again greeted Putin, even bowing his head before this criminal dictator:

The Kremlin must have been so pleased with this image that it has published this enlargement on the aforementioned website of this BRICS meeting:

Guterres' shameful embrace of dictator Lukashenko

As if he had not already had an infamous attitude towards the Russian dictator, Guterres starred in this affectionate embrace with the dictator Lukashenko, who has been ruling in Belarus for decades without free elections and repressing any protest from the democratic opposition:

Ukraine's government vetoes Guterres' visit to the country

Guterres’ attitude has understandably angered Ukraine. The UN secretary-general had intended to visit the country after stopping in Russia, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected Guterres’ visit. The Ukrainian government has criticised "the humiliation of sanity and international law in Kazan", in a rebuke to the UN secretary-general.

On Thursday, Zelensky, without citing Guterres but in a veiled allusion to him, said: "It's not just about Ukraine. Today, on the International Day of the United Nations, it is especially necessary to say so. To say so when the goal for which the UN was created is not defended by the UN Security Council or even by UN officials, but by cooperation formats such as the Crimean Platform or the Peace Summit. And I would like to remind the international bureaucracy and political leaders that today is United Nations Day all over the world, not somewhere in Kazan."

Ukrainian government adviser harshly criticises Guterres

In an article published by the Kyiv Post, Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian government, wrote under the title: "Guterres Disgraced Himself and Made a Mockery of the UN at the BRICS Summit." Gerashchenko notes the following about what happened at that meeting:

"Not once did Guterres condemn Russia's war against Ukraine. Not once did he call Russia the aggressor. Instead, he merely said: "We must uphold the values of the UN Charter, the rule of law and the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of all states."

This is hypocrisy on a global scale. It is very telling that this happened on 24 October, UN Day. The head of the UN has chose to spend this day with a war criminal who has repeatedly trampled on the UN Charter."

Gerashchenko adds: "No matter how much the UN and other useless organizations talk about the need for de-escalation, participating in such events is a clear step towards escalation. Putin confirms that he can do what he wants and is still welcome."

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