MOSCOW: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is set to meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday during his first visit to the country since April 2022, confirmed the Kremlin.
The meeting will occur on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, where Moscow aims to demonstrate that Western efforts to isolate Russia over its actions in Ukraine have failed.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov announced that Putin and Guterres would hold bilateral talks on October 24, though he did not specify the agenda.
Guterres has consistently criticized Russia’s military actions in Ukraine, describing them as setting a “dangerous precedent” and advocating for a “just peace” that respects international law and Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
During Guterres’ last visit in April 2022, shortly after the invasion began, he discussed the UN’s stance on the conflict and proposed humanitarian assistance and civilian evacuations with Putin.
Currently, there are no indications that either Kyiv or Moscow is willing to engage in broader negotiations to resolve the ongoing two-and-a-half-year conflict. Putin has insisted that Ukraine must effectively capitulate by conceding more territory in the south and east before a ceasefire can be considered.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has firmly rejected any notion of ceding land for peace and has ruled out direct talks with Putin. In a recent address to the UN Security Council, Zelensky stated that Moscow “can only be forced into peace.”