In Moscow, the UN Secretary-General calls for a ceasefire and an independent investigation into war crimes | Globalism

This is the first time that the Secretary-General of the United Nations has visited Russia since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, which lasted more than two months. The visit comes amid escalating tensions after… Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday (25th) that he sees a real danger of a third world war.

Guterres’ agenda Moscow He began precisely with a meeting with Lavrov, who asked him to cease fire as soon as possible. After the meeting, Guterres said he had proposed creating a humanitarian corridor and expressed concern about signs of war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine. The Secretary-General said his priority was “to save lives and reduce human suffering”.

“The sooner we can do this, the better for Ukraine, Russia and the world. So far, this cannot be possible, ”the Secretary-General declared after the meeting.” We are very interested in finding ways to create conditions for effective dialogue, and an early ceasefire possible time, for a peaceful solution.”

After the meeting, Lavrov claimed that Ukraine had a Nazi ideological project to ban all cultural and linguistic references from Russia.

He said he was interested in cooperating with the United Nations. He said both have “different interpretations” of Ukraine, but that doesn’t stop them from talking. The Minister also mentioned that he discussed multilateralism and the role of the United Nations with the Secretary-General.

“We are interested in cooperating with our colleagues at the United Nations to alleviate the suffering of the civilian population,” Lavrov said.

Guterres also drew attention to the already apparent consequences of the war on the whole world, such as the rise in food prices.

“The dramatic acceleration in rising food prices is already causing enormous suffering to populations around the world. We need a multipolar world with multi-level institutions

In the afternoon, Guterres will meet with Vladimir Putin, with whom he should discuss the central points of ending the war in Ukraine.

After the visit to Russia, the Secretary-General will travel to Kyiv, where he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

One of the main topics for discussion between Guterres and Putin will be the situation in Mariupol, the city in southern Ukraine that Russia claims to have occupied. Russian forces continue to besiege the Azovstal complex, one of the largest mining factories in Europe where thousands of soldiers and civilians still resist the occupation.

Since last week, Kyiv and Moscow The failed attempt to reach an agreement for the peaceful withdrawal of soldiers and civilians.