Ukrainians Upset That UN Chief António Guterres Will Meet With Vladimir Putin
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U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres’ diplomatic efforts to bring an end to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bloody war in Ukraine have been met with skepticism from Ukrainian officials.
Guterres announced on Saturday he’ll visit Russia and Ukraine this week to meet separately with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Next week, I will meet with President Vladimir Putin in Russia and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine.
We need urgent steps to save lives, end the human suffering and bring about peace in Ukraine.— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) April 23, 2022
Zelenskyy questioned the purpose of Guterres’ trip to Moscow.
“Why? To hand over signals from Russia? What should we look for?” Zelenskyy said following the U.N. leader’s announcement, according to The Associated Press.
Igor Zhovkva, deputy head of Zelenskyy’s office, told NBC’s “Meet The Press” Sunday that the U.N. chief is “not really” authorized to speak on behalf of Ukraine.
“This is not good idea to travel to Moscow,” Zhovkva said. “We did not understand his intention to travel to Moscow and to talk to President Putin.”
TODAY ON #MTP: Igor Zhovkva, President Zelenskyy’s top diplomatic adviser, says the UN Secretary General is "not really" authorized to speak for Ukraine in meetings with President Putin.
"We do not understand his intention to travel to Moscow and to talk to President Putin." pic.twitter.com/xGy7IlPAMi— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) April 24, 2022
Zhokva expressed doubt that talks led by Guterres would be constructive. He also called on the U.N. to provide more humanitarian support for Ukraine.
“Any peace talks are good if they end with the result,” Zhokva said.
Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s prime minister, said that despite multiple efforts to engage Russia in meaningful peace talks, it appears the Kremlin is uninterested.
“I think the Russian Federation and Putin are not interested in this negotiation,” Shmyhal said. “They are interested in other things. They are interested in genocide of Ukrainians.”
Ukrainian Prime Minister Shmyhal is “not sure” U.N. Sec. Gen. Guterres' expected meeting with Russian President Putin this week will result in a diplomatic breakthrough. He thinks the Russian Federation is more interested in the "genocide of Ukrainians." pic.twitter.com/Jjgxq5paUF
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) April 25, 2022
Last week, Guterres called for a four-day humanitarian cease-fire ahead of Orthodox Easter.
“Stop the bloodshed and destruction,” Guterres told reporters on Tuesday. “Open a window for dialogue and peace. Keep faith with the meaning and the message of Easter.”
I am calling for an Orthodox Holy Week humanitarian pause to the war in Ukraine.
I urge all parties – and all champions of peace around the world -- to join my Easter appeal.
Save lives.
Stop the bloodshed and destruction.
Open a window for dialogue and peace. pic.twitter.com/drEWHcExnl— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) April 19, 2022
Guterres’ proposal went unheeded, as Russian missiles killed five people in Ukraine’s Odessa over the weekend.
On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
Blinken said that despite Russia’s efforts to strip Ukraine of its independence, Ukraine is pulling through.
“We’re seeing that when it comes to Russia’s war aims, Russia is failing, Ukraine is succeeding,” Blinken said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says “Russia is failing” in its war aims, while “Ukraine is succeeding.”
He visited Kyiv with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin https://t.co/jzskWwp54Xpic.twitter.com/LsDnk6ce6n— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) April 25, 2022
The U.S. officials also pledged an additional $300 million in foreign military financing and said the U.S. had approved a $165 million sale of ammunition.
“We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine,” Austin said.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has said that the US wants to see “Russia weakened”, following a meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Sunday.
🔴 LIVE updates: https://t.co/qvG62fmtkHpic.twitter.com/B5KF5rQORl— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) April 25, 2022
President Joe Biden announced Monday he is nominating Bridget A. Brink, currently the U.S. ambassador to Slovakia, as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.
NEW: Pres. Biden announces his nomination of Bridget Brink to serve as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. https://t.co/BRFhoPBQBrpic.twitter.com/BDLokNtWKY
— ABC News (@ABC) April 25, 2022
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.