Meetings will not end Ukraine conflict: UN Chief

Kyiv, April 28 UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that the war in Ukraine will not reach an end with meetings but until “Russia decides to end it”.

He called his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as ‘very useful’.

Speaking about his meeting with Putin held on Tuesday, the UN chief said that his message remains same since the beginning of the conflict — the Russian invasion is a breach of the UN Charter and it must end as quickly as possible.

Guterres, who is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday, described his encounter with the Russian leader as “very useful,” CNN reported.

He further said that concerns about the violations of international law, human rights law and the “possibility of war crimes were shared with the Russian President.

Guterres defended the role of the UN in terms of bringing an end to the two-month-old conflict.

He said, “The war will not end with meetings. The war will end when the Russian Federation decides to end it and when there is – after a ceasefire – a possibility of a serious political agreement. We can have all the meetings but that is not what will end the war.”
The UN chief told CNN that the war in Ukraine will “not end with meetings” until “Russia decides to end it.”

He said, “The war will end when the Russian Federation decides to end it and when there is – after a ceasefire – a possibility of a serious political agreement. We can have all the meetings but that is not what will end the war.”
On Tuesday, Guterres  traveled to Russia for a one-on-one meeting with Putin to discuss “proposals for humanitarian assistance and the evacuation of civilians” from conflict zones, namely the besieged city of Mariupol, according to the UN.

The ongoing conflict between the two nations started on February 24 when Russia launched a full-scale invasion on Ukraine.