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Zelenskiy Rejects UN Chief’s Plan to Visit Kyiv over Russia Trip, Source Says

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia October 24, 2024. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via Reuters
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia October 24, 2024. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via Reuters
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Zelenskiy Rejects UN Chief’s Plan to Visit Kyiv over Russia Trip, Source Says

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia October 24, 2024. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via Reuters
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia October 24, 2024. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has rejected a plan for the UN Secretary General to visit Kyiv due to Antonio Guterres's attendance at this week's BRICS summit in Russia, a Ukrainian official said on Friday.

Kyiv was enraged by Guterres's appearance at the event in the city of Kazan on Thursday and his handshake with its host, Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 2022.

Guterres - who called for a "just peace" in Ukraine at the BRICS event and has repeatedly condemned the invasion - discussed a visit to Ukraine with Zelenskiy when they met in New York in September, Deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said.

Haq said that since then the UN and Ukraine have been trying to work out a "mutually convenient time" for a visit, but that nothing had been decided.

The Ukrainian official, who asked not to be named, said Zelenskiy had now rejected the visit because of the BRICS appearance, without going into further detail.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Guterres' acceptance of the invitation to attend the BRICS summit had damaged the UN's reputation.

Zelenskiy condemned the decision to turn up. "Even though some of its officials may choose the temptations of Kazan over the substance of the UN Charter, the world remains structured in such a way that the rights of nations and the norms of international law will always matter," he said on Thursday.

Russia's invasion has displaced millions of people, killed thousands and destroyed settlements and energy infrastructure.

The summit of BRICS nations, which started on Tuesday, was aimed at showcasing the clout of non-Western countries. Other leaders attending included Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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US, EU Call for Probe after Reports of Georgia Election Violations

Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
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US, EU Call for Probe after Reports of Georgia Election Violations

Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)

Georgia's president called for protests on Monday following a disputed parliamentary election, and the United States and the European Union urged a full investigation into reports of violations in the voting.
The results, with almost all precincts counted, were a blow for pro-Western Georgians who had cast Saturday's election as a choice between a ruling party that has deepened ties with Russia and an opposition aiming to fast-track integration with Europe, said Reuters.
Monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said on Sunday they had registered incidents of vote-buying, voter intimidation, and ballot-stuffing that could have affected the outcome, but they stopped short of saying the election was rigged.
President Salome Zourabichvili urged people to take to the streets to protest against the results of the ballot, which the electoral commission said the ruling party had won.
In an address on Sunday, she referred to the result as a "Russian special operation". She did not clarify what she meant by the term.
The ruling Georgian Dream party, of which Zourabichvili is a fierce critic, clinched nearly 54% of the vote, the commission said, as opposition parties contested the outcome and vote monitors reported significant violations.
Georgian media cited Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze as saying on Monday that the opposition was attempting to topple the "constitutional order" and that his government remained committed to European integration.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States joined calls from observers for a full probe.
"Going forward, we encourage Georgia's political leaders to respect the rule of law, repeal legislation that undermines fundamental freedoms, and address deficiencies in the electoral process together," Blinken said in a statement.
Earlier, the European Union urged Georgia to swiftly and transparently investigate the alleged irregularities in the vote.
"The EU recalls that any legislation that undermines the fundamental rights and freedoms of Georgian citizens and runs counter to the values and principles upon which the EU is founded, must be repealed," the European Commission said in a joint statement with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
President Zourabichvili, a former Georgian Dream ally who won the 2018 presidential vote as an independent, urged Georgians to protest in the center of the capital Tbilisi on Monday evening, to show the world "that we do not recognize these elections".
For years, Georgia was one of the most pro-Western countries to emerge from the Soviet Union, with polls showing many Georgians disliking Russia for its support of two breakaway regions of their country.
Russia defeated Georgia in their brief war over the rebel province of South Ossetia in 2008.
The election result poses a challenge to the EU's ambition to expand by bringing in more former Soviet states.
Moldova earlier this month narrowly approved adding a clause to the constitution defining EU accession as a goal. Moldovan officials said Russia meddled in the election, a claim denied by Moscow.