Zelensky to Guterres: the U.N. Charter is defended right here and right now

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres met in Kyiv on Wednesday on Guterres’s third visit to Ukraine in less than a year – since Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“The position of the United Nations, which I have consistently expressed, is crystal clear: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a violation of the U.N. Charter and international law,” Guterres said at a press encounter following the meeting, as reported on the U.N. website.

“The sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine must be upheld, within its internationally recognized borders. Our ultimate objective is equally clear: a just peace based on the UN Charter, international law and the recent General Assembly resolution marking one year since the start of the war. Until that just peace can be secured, we continue working hard to mitigate the impacts of the conflict, which has caused enormous suffering for the Ukrainian people – with profound global implications,” said the Secretary-General.

“I can assure you that we will continue to seek solutions and a just peace for the people of Ukraine and the world,” he added.

“Ukraine is just the one who defends the goals and principles of the U.N. Charter right now,” Zelensky emphasized, according to his official website. “Therefore, it is right now and in Ukraine that the U.N. future and global role are being decided.”

The President thanked Guterres, his team and all those in the United Nations who understand the necessity to protect the universal values and international order. In this context, he mentioned the resolution on “Principles of the Charter of the United Nations underlying a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine” adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in February.

“I thank António Guterres for his explicit condemnation of the Russian aggression as a gross violation of the U.N. Charter. Today, I expressed my hope that the personal leadership of Mr. Secretary-General will help to implement our resolution – such a mandate from the U.N. General Assembly, in fact, already exists,” said Zelensky.