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The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky next week after a visit in Moscow to discuss the war with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the UN said Friday.
Guterres will meet with Zelensky and Ukraine’s foreign minister on Thursday, the UN said in a statement.
The Kremlin confirmed on Friday that Putin will meet with Guterres on Tuesday.
Guterres issued letters this week demanding these in-person meetings in an attempt to reclaim the initiative for the UN, which has been mostly sidelined in the crisis since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
This is due, in part, to the fact that the war has divided the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council: the United States, France, the United Kingdom, China, and Russia.
China has declined to denounce the invasion, portraying Russia as a victim of Western efforts to weaken it.
Guterres hoped to stimulate discussion to end the fighting with the letters he sent on Tuesday.
“At this time of enormous peril and consequence, he would like to discuss urgent efforts to bring about peace in Ukraine,” spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said last week.
Since the beginning of the war, Guterres has had only one phone conversation with Zelensky, on March 26.
Putin has not returned Guterres’ phone calls or communicated with him since the UN leader stated that the invasion violated the UN Charter.
