EU state calls for UN boss to resign

Lithuania’s prime minister and foreign minister have both criticized Antonio Guterres for attending the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia Read Full Article at RT.com

Oct 27, 2024 - 16:06

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Lithuania has blasted Antonio Guterres for attending the BRICS Summit in Russia

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has called for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to resign, claiming he has “lost credibility” after attending this week’s BRICS summit in Russia.

Landsbergis criticized Guterres for appearing in Kazan while skipping Ukraine’s ‘peace conference’ last summer, suggesting this has undermined the UN leader’s impartiality. The Baltic state’s top diplomat argued that Guterres’ actions showed bias, making his position as a neutral global representative untenable.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte also condemned Guterres' trip, where he met with the leaders of China, Russia, India and others, as “pathetic” and “incomprehensible.”

Guterres traveled to the three-day event in Kazan, where high-level delegations from 36 nations were in attendance. His office emphasized that the meeting represented nearly half of the world’s population and was thus “of great importance” for the organization’s work.

The Swiss-hosted Ukrainian gathering, which centered around Vladimir Zelensky’s so-called “peace formula,” took place in June and did not include Russia. Although the UN chief turned down an invitation to attend, the organization was represented “at the appropriate level,” according to UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, as cited by Yahoo News.

Commenting on the UN Secretary-General’s participation in the BRICS conference on Friday, Landsbergis argued that Guterres is “no longer accepted as an honest broker” regarding conflict resolution between Russia and Ukraine.

If he decides to resign, we certainly would not discourage him.

“Guterres must admit he was wrong and take responsibility—for deciding not to attend the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland and for going to see the wanted war criminal Putin and groveling with both him and his accomplice Lukashenko,” the foreign minister said, as quoted by local media.