The conversation between the two only made it clear how far apart they are in terms of content.
(Photo: AP)
After more than two months of war, the UN Secretary-General takes the initiative: António Guterres wants to help end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. For the first time since the beginning of the conflict, he campaigned directly in Moscow for Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as an “ambassador for peace”, he urged the establishment of stable escape and supply corridors and he proposed a humanitarian contact group with the UN, Russia and Ukraine.
But the UN Secretary General did not achieve a breakthrough with Lavrov. Guterres later engaged with President Vladimir Putin – the expectations of the meeting with the warlord could not have been lower. The different perspectives already collided in the Russian Foreign Ministry.
While the Secretary-General denounced Putin’s invasion as a violation of the UN Charter, spoke of possible war crimes and demanded the evacuation of the trapped civilians from Mariupol, Lavrov defended the Russian invasion with an ice-cold face, accused Ukraine of Nazi methods and told President Volodymyr Zelensky any willingness to negotiate.
And while Russian troops are destroying the neighboring country and chasing away, injuring and massacring innocent people, Lavrov ranted about the “sovereignty and equality” of states and about “dialogue”.
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Guterres must have asked himself the oppressive question: How can a stable ceasefire or even peace be agreed with those in power who rely on lies, violence and land grabs? As long as Putin rules, Russia will remain a threat to Ukraine and other countries. That became clear once again that day in Moscow.
Guterres is credible but not wanted as an intermediary
And Guterres might also ask himself what role the United Nations can play in the search for a peaceful solution to the war in Eastern Europe. The sober answer: In the foreseeable future, the UN will hardly appear as a mediator of any importance.
Guterres himself may have gained international credibility through his clear criticism of Putin’s war, but at the same time he fell out of favor in Moscow. The Kremlin, it seems, will not accept him as a broker. And what about the main UN bodies, the Security Council and the General Assembly? They are either suffering from a blockade or from political weakness.
>>> Read here: UN chief Guterres proposes trilateral contact group for escape corridors – and meets with Putin
The only job left to the UN and its helpers, such as the World Food Program, is to act as a humanitarian fire brigade to help Putin’s victims. And the number of victims keeps increasing. According to the latest figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 5,840 civilians have been injured or killed since the first Russian shelling on February 24. The number of unreported cases is much higher.
The extent of the displacement, on the other hand, is clearly visible. More than five million people have fled Ukraine to other countries. The aid organization UNHCR fears that the number will rise to well over eight million refugees. 7.7 million people are lost in Ukraine. As long as Russia’s war against Ukraine rages on, the expulsion will not end.
UNHCR and its partner organizations need 1.85 billion US dollars just to care for the Ukrainian refugees in the countries of the region. The funds are used to finance the purchase and provision of shelter, food, medicine and other relief supplies. Member States of the United Nations like Germany should raise the amount – they pay for the devastating consequences of Russian imperialism.
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