‘A wonderful miracle of the world”: UN Secretary-General speaks about his visit to the BRICS summit in Kazan

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres attended the BRICS summit in Kazan and expressed his admiration for the Kazan Kremlin, which caused a mixed reaction from Ukraine.

During his visit to the BRICS summit in Kazan, UN Secretary General António Guterres spoke positively about the event and the architectural monument of the Kazan Kremlin, which he called a “wonderful wonder of the world”. His comments are widely quoted by Russian media. Guterres emphasized the importance of international summits where countries come together to jointly solve global problems.

On October 23, Guterres met with Russian President Vladimir Putin against the background of the Russian-Ukrainian war, while the Secretary General refused to participate in the Peace Summit initiated by Ukraine in Switzerland.

In response to this visit, the adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak noted that such actions of the Secretary General demonstrate the crisis of the United Nations itself. Podoliak expressed the opinion that the UN is losing its authority as an international organization that is meant to influence the resolution of crisis situations.

This visit by Guterres and his words caused outrage in Kyiv, where such an approach is seen as evidence of the weakening of the UN in the context of modern challenges to global security.