U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived at the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan on Oct. 22, despite criticism from Ukraine, Voice of America reported.
The BRICS group, a bloc of countries that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates, is convening in Kazan for a three-day summit from Oct. 22-24. According to Moscow, 36 world leaders are participating in the conference.
Guterres is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the event on Oct. 24, according to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry criticized the U.N. secretary general's visit.
"The U.N. 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," the ministry said on social media.
"This is a wrong choice that does not advance the cause of peace. It only damages the U.N.'s reputation."
Switzerland hosted Ukraine's global peace summit on June 15-16, with representatives of around 100 countries and organizations in attendance. Seventy-eight states and four organizations signed the final joint communique of the peace summit. Since then, multiple countries have signed on the ever-expanding list of delegations.
Guterres has repeatedly criticized Russia for its full-scale war against Ukraine. The U.N. and Turkey also brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allowed Kyiv to export its agricultural products. The agreement collapsed after Moscow had pulled out in 2023.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among other leaders, also arrived at the summit. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has canceled the trip after suffering a head injury at home.
At the meeting, Russia will seek to convince the BRICS countries to create an alternative platform for international payments that would be immune to Western sanctions, Reuters reported.
Abbey Fenbert
(Updated: )
