KAZAN, Russia (Reuters) -United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told BRICS leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that the world needed peace in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine and Sudan.
“Across the board, we need peace,” Guterres said at the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan.
“We need peace in Ukraine. A just peace in line with the UN Charter, international law and UN General Assembly resolutions.”
Guterres’ office later issued a statement saying he had met Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS meeting and restating his call for peace in line with his address.
The statement said Guterres reiterated his position that Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine was “in violation of the United Nations Charter and international law”.
Guterres, the statement said, also said freedom of navigation in the Black Sea was “of paramount importance” for Russia, Ukraine and overall food and energy security.
The two men also discussed the “absolute need for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as the need to avoid a further regional escalation”.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Ron Popeski and Sandra Maler)
