Meeting With Russian Foreign Minister In Moscow, UN Secretary General: We Have Different Interpretations Of What's Happening In Ukraine

An illustration of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. (Wikimedia Commons/President of the Republic of Armenia)

JAKARTA - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres held a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, in a bid to find a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine.

Antonio Guterres laid out his goals for talks with Lavrov in a speech before the meeting started, reports The National News on April 26.

He told Foreign Minister Lavrov the UN was "very interested in finding ways to create conditions for an effective dialogue, create conditions for a ceasefire as soon as possible, and create conditions for a peaceful solution."

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Lavrov said the situation in Ukraine had "been a catalyst for a large number of problems", which had accumulated over the past decades in the European and Atlantic regions.

Speaking at a joint press conference following the meeting, Foreign Minister Lavrov repeated his government's accusations that the Kyiv Government sought to ban Russian culture and language, and had promoted Nazi ideology through legislation. The claims have been refuted by analysts.

In addition, Foreign Minister Lavrov also "poured cold water" on Kyiv's proposal to hold peace talks in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, saying it was too early to talk about who would mediate any negotiations. He said Russia was committed to a diplomatic solution through talks in Ukraine, while accusing the Kyiv government of not being serious about the discussions.

Foreign Minister Lavrov also underlined, Moscow is ready to cooperate with the United Nations to help civilians in Ukraine.

"Our aim is primarily to protect the civilian population and here we are ready to cooperate with our colleagues from the United Nations, to alleviate the suffering of the civilian population," Lavrov said.

Meanwhile, Secretary-General Guterres told reporters at a news conference that their discussion of the Ukraine crisis had been "very frank".

He said he was concerned about reports of human rights abuses and possible war crimes being committed in Ukraine, saying the battle for the Donbas had brought "tremendous death and destruction" to eastern Ukraine.

He further said an effective humanitarian corridor was urgently needed to evacuate civilians from areas hit by gunfire, and called for a ceasefire.

"The sooner peace is built, the better for Ukraine, Russia, and the world," he said.

The UN secretary-general acknowledged the differences of opinion in Kyiv and Moscow, but pointed to the fact, there are Russian tanks in Ukraine but no Ukrainian tanks in Russia.

Prior to the meeting, Foreign Minister Lavrov told his guest he wanted to talk about the need for multilateralism and the work of the United Nations. Foreign Minister Lavrov accused the West of ignoring the principles of multilateralism.

"These principles of true multilateralism have, for several years, been scorned by the West which has resorted to the tactic of implanting into the world arena a one-sided world order to remain forever," he said through an interpreter.

Guterres responded by describing himself as "a deeply committed multilateralist, based on the values of the UN Charter and international law."

He said although the UN and Moscow have different interpretations of the war in Ukraine, both sides can work together to minimize the suffering of people in the ex-Soviet country.

"I know that we have different interpretations of what happened in Ukraine," he said during his first visit to Russia since the invasion of Ukraine.

"That doesn't limit the possibilities for having a very serious dialogue about the best way we can do, to minimize the suffering of people."

The UN chief said he also wanted to find ways to reduce the impact of conflict in other parts of the world. He warned that countries around the world were facing the 'dramatic effects of war', saying efforts were needed to protect them from adverse impacts in areas such as food security, energy and finance.

He stressed his commitment "to do everything possible to end the war as soon as possible, to do everything possible to minimize people's suffering and to address the impact on vulnerable populations in other parts of the world".

UN Secretary-General Guterres will next meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for further talks on Tuesday. Next, he will travel to Kyiv, after the talks in Moscow are over.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Guterres for going to Russia before Ukraine, arguing there was "no justice and no logic" in it.

President Zelensky said it was "wrong" for the UN secretary-general to hold talks with Russian officials before meeting with Ukraine.