United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has admitted that peace negotiations to end Russia’s war against Ukraine in the short term are impossible, in an interview released this Tuesday by the Spanish newspaper El Pais.
“Unfortunately, I think that peace negotiations are not possible at the moment,” Guterres said, quoted by the French agency AFP.
The former Portuguese prime minister said he also sees “no possibility”. [se] immediately obtain (…) a comprehensive ceasefire”.
“It is clear that both sides are fully committed to the war” and “confident that they can win,” he justified.
Guterres said he hoped it would be possible to bring the two sides to the negotiating table in the future.
António Guterres, 74 years old, leader of the UN since 2017, will receive this Tuesday in Spain the European Carlos V Prize, awarded by the Foundation of the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste at a ceremony presided over by King Felipe VI.
The interview with the UN Secretary-General was released on the day Russia celebrates victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.
In front of thousands of soldiers and the Russian political elite gathered in Moscow’s Red Square, President Vladimir Putin called for victory against Ukraine.
Putin also accused Western countries of orchestrating a war against Russia.
“Civilization is again at a turning point. A war has started against our homeland,” he said.
China, which presents itself as a neutral interlocutor in the conflict in Ukraine despite its proximity to Russia, is trying to act as a mediator in the conflict.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang is in Europe this week and is due to visit Germany, France and Norway respectively.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022 to “demilitarize and denazify” the neighboring country.
It has since declared the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporijia annexed to the Russian Federation, after doing the same with Crimea in 2014.
Ukraine and the international community in general do not recognize Moscow’s sovereignty over the annexed regions.
The war against Ukraine plunged Europe into what is considered the worst security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
The number of dead and injured in the conflict is unknown, but several sources, including the UN, have admitted it will be high.
Ukraine’s western allies, including the European Union (EU) and the United States, have supplied Kiev with weapons to fight Russian forces.
They also imposed sanctions on Russian interests to try to reduce Moscow’s ability to finance the war effort.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is in Kiev for Europe Day, which is celebrated today.
Source: DN
