GETX24
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit Russia and Ukraine next week to call for an end to the war. On Tuesday, he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Guterres' associate spokesman Eri Kaneko made the remarks at a news conference in New York on Friday, Reuters reported. After meeting with Putin on Tuesday, he is scheduled to meet on Thursday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmitry Kulebar.
Kaneko said he was expected to discuss what could be done to restore peace in Ukraine as a matter of urgency.
Guterres has called for a four-day Orthodox Easter humanitarian break in the war in Ukraine, which began on Thursday. So that civilians can evacuate safely from the conflict zone.
Earlier, on April 19, Guterres wrote a letter to Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky at the Permanent Mission of Russia and Ukraine to the United Nations, welcoming them.
Moscow's biggest attack on a European country since 1945 is in Ukraine. The attack killed or injured thousands of people. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for dialogue between the two countries to end the war.
Moscow launched a temporary operation in Ukraine on February 24. The UN Human Rights Council has expressed deep concern over the presence of additional military presence and clashes in eastern Ukraine. The war has so far killed 2,343 civilians, the agency said.
More than 12 million people have been displaced. A large part of them have taken refuge in neighboring countries. According to World Bank President David Malpas, the Moscow invasion has cost Ukraine core 6 trillion in building and infrastructural damage.
Meanwhile, the head of the organization, Michelle Bachelet, condemned the attacks on civilians.