Ukraine blasts UN chief over potential meeting with Putin at BRICS, says stayed away from Kyiv's peace summit

Ukraine on Monday blasted United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres for allegedly accepting an invitation to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week during the international BRICS summit.

Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the U.N. for comment on the meeting, but the Ukrainian foreign ministry took to X to voice their displeasure with the supposed meeting, which is set for Thursday and was first announced by Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov, according to multiple reports.  

"The U.N. Secretary General declined Ukraine's invitation to the first Global Peace Summit in Switzerland. He did, however, accept the invitation to Kazan from war criminal Putin," the Ukrainian foreign ministry said.

"This is a wrong choice that does not advance the cause of peace," the ministry added. "It only damages the U.N.'s reputation."

The U.N. has not confirmed the meeting and in response to questions on Monday from reporters, deputy spokesman for the secretary-general Farhan Haq said, "Announcements on his future travels will be later on down the line."

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The meeting will be the first between Putin and Guterres in over two years amid the Kremlin’s illegal war in Ukraine, and will occur on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, which is being hosted by Russia in its southwestern city of Kazan, some 500 miles east of Moscow. 

BRICS, which stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is an intergovernmental body that was established in 2009 to counter Western influence and bolster economic partnerships. The bloc has expanded to include another five nations, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The 10 BRICS countries now make up over a quarter of the global economy and nearly half of the world’s population, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. 

Delegates from another two dozen countries will also be in attendance this week, with many nations looking to join the bloc as well, including NATO ally Turkey, which petitioned for membership last month.

Leaders from 22 nations are set to attend the conference and Putin is reportedly scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, followed by Wednesday meetings with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan, confirmed Reuters.

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The meeting between Putin and Erdoğan is expected to be closely monitored by Western nations, which have grown increasingly weary of Turkey as its leader has looked to broaden ties with Moscow amid the war in Ukraine despite NATO’s fervent condemnation of the invasion. 

Reports have suggested Turkey is looking to now join the BRICS partnership – which is increasingly dominated by top NATO adversaries like Russia, China and Iran, with a potential North Korea membership on the horizon – due to its frustration over the refusal by the European Union to grant Ankara membership. 

Though not all world leaders attending the summit this week appear as ambivalent toward Western ties as some, including Modi who has attempted to toe the geopolitical line when it comes to India’s position over the controversial war in Ukraine.

Modi reportedly spoke with Putin ahead of the summit and reiterated that India was ready to see an end to the brutal war through "peaceful means."

Though New Delhi remains the world’s largest buyer of Russian arms, Modi traveled in August to Ukraine, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenksyy.

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Not all BRICS leaders will attend the summit. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday canceled his trip to Kazan at the advice of medical officials following an injury at home that resulted in a minor brain hemorrhage, reported Reuters. 

Lula da Silva is now expected to attend the summit by video conference. 

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel also reportedly bowed out over medical reasons related to "serious energy levels."