UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said today that he was deeply concerned about the Ukraine crisis and the “increased speculation” of a military conflict, urging world leaders to step up diplomatic efforts to calm the situation.
“We simply can not even accept the possibility of such a catastrophic confrontation,” he told reporters after having lunch with UN Security Council ambassadors.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that he had heard that Wednesday could be the day of a Russian invasion. Moscow said it was ready to continue dialogue with the West to defuse the crisis, while the United States said Russia was strengthening its military capabilities near the Ukrainian border.
“It’s time to dump her and move on.” There is no room for inflammatory rhetoric. “Public statements should aim to reduce tensions, not to ignite them,” Guterres said.
Earlier, the UN Secretary-General had separate talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba. He then assured reporters that he would remain “fully committed in the coming hours and days” to the Ukrainian crisis.
Guterres stressed that the Charter of the United Nations requires all member states to “abstain in international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State”.
“Abandoning diplomacy for a confrontation is not a step beyond a line, it is a dip in the precipice,” Guterres said. “In short, my appeal is: Do not reject peace,” he added.
The United Nations has not announced plans to evacuate or relocate some of its 1,600 staff to Ukraine, 220 of whom are foreign nationals and nearly 1,400 of whom are Ukrainians, according to UN spokesman Stefan Duzarik.
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