The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, admitted that peace negotiations to end Russia’s war against Ukraine are impossible in the short term, in an interview published on Tuesday by the Spanish newspaper El País.
“Unfortunately, I believe that, at this moment, a peace negotiation is not possible,” Guterres said, quoted by the French agency AFP.
The former Portuguese prime minister said he also sees “no possibility of [se] obtain immediately (…) a comprehensive ceasefire”.
“It is evident that both parties are fully committed to the war” and are “convinced that they can win,” he justified.
Guterres said he hoped it would be possible, in the future, to bring the two sides to the negotiating table. António Guterres, 74, leader of the UN since 2017, will receive the Carlos V European Award in Spain, awarded by the Foundation of the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste in an act presided over by King Felipe VI.
The prize recognizes the work of “people, organizations, projects or initiatives that have contributed to the general knowledge and enhancement of the cultural, social, scientific and historical values of Europe, as well as to the process of construction and European integration”.
The President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and the President of the Government, António Guterres, attend the ceremony, at the Yuste Monastery, Cáceres.
The interview with the UN Secretary General was published on the day that Russia celebrates the 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, once again, at a tipping point. A war has been launched against our homeland,” she said.
China, which presents itself as a neutral partner in the Ukraine conflict, despite its proximity to Russia, tries 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 successively.
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 Zaporizhia 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 wounded in the conflict is unknown, but several sources, including the UN, have admitted that it will be high.
Ukraine’s Western allies, including the European Union (EU) and the United States, have been supplying kyiv with weapons to fight Russian troops.
They also imposed sanctions against Russian interests to try to diminish Moscow’s ability to finance the war effort.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is in kyiv on the occasion of Europe Day, which is celebrated this Tuesday.
Source: TSF
