UN Secretary-General arrives in Russia for BRICS summit
Photo: UN Secretary-General António Guterres (getty images)
UN Secretary-General António Guterres arrived for an unannounced visit to Kazan, Russia, on the first day of a three-day BRICS summit. One of the goals of this event is to showcase the relative nature of the political isolation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (MFA), Voice of America, and Radio Liberty.
According to Radio Liberty, Putin will meet with Guterres on the summit's final day.
John Kirby, White House National Security Council Communications Advisor, commented to Voice of America that due to Russia's isolation on the global stage, Putin still has "to take radical steps to prop up his currency and to keep his war economy going."
Overall, Russia expects 22 leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, to attend the summit.
The Ukrainian MFA previously reacted to reports of the UN Secretary-General's possible participation in the summit.
"The UN Secretary-General declined Ukraine's invitation to the first Global Peace Summit in Switzerland. He did, however, accept the invitation to Kazan from war criminal Putin. This is a wrong choice that does not advance the cause of peace. It only damages the UN's reputation," the MFA stated in a post on social media platform X.
It is worth noting that in early September, it became known that Türkiye had applied for membership in BRICS.
On October 20, it was reported that Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva canceled his trip to the BRICS summit in Russia.
Earlier, Putin declined to attend the G20 summit in Brazil, where he could face arrest under an International Criminal Court warrant. However, he stated that the ICC's decision is easy to bypass.
