UN Secretary-General Guterres has arrived in Russia for the BRICS summit, where he will meet with Putin.

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has arrived in Russia for an unannounced visit. He came to Kazan to participate in a three-day BRICS summit. It is expected that he will raise issues concerning Ukraine, among other topics.

This was reported by Voice of America. Guterres' participation in the summit was also confirmed by UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq, as noted by Anadolu.

According to Haq, the UN Secretary-General will hold several bilateral meetings during the summit. The official plans to address issues related to Ukraine, the Gaza Strip, and freedom of navigation in the Black Sea.

“This meeting is of great importance for the work of the UN, as BRICS countries represent approximately half of the world’s population,” he stated.

In response to criticism of the visit, Guterres' assistant also mentioned that the UN Secretary-General intends to visit Ukraine as well. The timing of this visit is currently unknown.

According to “Radio Free Europe,” António Guterres will meet with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. This will take place on October 24 during the summit.

Guterres in Russia

News of Guterres' visit to Russia became known the day before. Ukrainian diplomats criticized this decision, stating that the action tarnishes the organization's reputation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminded that Guterres previously ignored the Ukrainian peace summit in 2024.

According to Tatarstan's Deputy Prime Minister Shamil Gafarov, representatives from 33 countries have confirmed their participation in the Russian BRICS summit, with 24 of them being heads of state and nine at the level of second and third-ranking officials. Kazan will also host six international organizations.

It is worth noting that the name BRICS derives from the English initials of the founding countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Currently, there are nine member states - Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates joined in January 2024. Collectively, the member states of this union account for 45% of the world's population (approximately 3.5 billion people) and, according to the World Bank, about 28% of the global economy, totaling 28 trillion euros.

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