By Diyar Guldogan
WASHINGTON (AA) - Ukraine blasted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres early Tuesday for reportedly accepting an invitation to attend a summit in Russia.
"The UN 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 Foreign Ministry said on X.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will host the 16th BRICS summit on Oct. 22-24 in Russia’s city of Kazan, where 32 countries have confirmed their participation, with 24 being represented by their heads of state, while the remaining eight will send high-ranking officials.
Although Guterres' participation has not been made public yet, the ministry said "this is a wrong choice that does not advance the cause of peace. It only damages the UN's reputation."
When UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq was asked on Monday if Guterres would attend the meeting, he said "announcements on his future travels will be later on down the line."
Major topics at the summit are likely to include economic cooperation, trade agreements and the challenges faced by BRICS members, such as geopolitical tensions, the global economic slowdown and climate change.
Russia will likely highlight multilateralism, using the BRICS platform to counter Western-dominated global governance structures.