UN Secretary-General meets Putin and Lavrov – late start of briefing

UN Secretary – General António Guterres is visiting Moscow today. He will meet with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrovin and the president Vladimir Putin. will follow the press conference, which was scheduled to begin at 1.30 pm Finnish time. After the visit, Guterres will travel to Kiev.

Russia has been condemned by a majority in the UN General Assembly.

In early March, the UN voted on whether Russia’s attack should be condemned, and in early April, whether the country should be suspended from the UN Human Rights Council.

At the beginning of March, five states voted against: Eritrea, North Korea, Syria, Belarus and Russia.

Russia used its veto when the UN Security Council drafted a resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia became even more isolated when the UN Human Rights Council voted in favor of an inquiry into human rights violations. Only Russia and Eritrea opposed.

Although Russia seems isolated, support can still be found, recalls the professor emeritus of international law Martti Koskenniemi From the University of Helsinki.

– It is good to remember that about two-thirds of the world’s population lives in countries that have not condemned Russia’s actions, Koskenniemi points out in a telephone interview.

China and India, among others, abstained in a UN resolution in early March. According to Koskenniemi, the resolution of the General Assembly is not of great significance from the point of view of international law.

– The Security Council has the power to take decisions that are binding on states when they concern peace and security.

In early April, after the events in Bushan, the President of Ukraine survived Volodymyr Zelenskyi In his video speech, he called for a reform of the UN Charter so that the exercise of Russia’s veto could be prevented.

Koskenniemi states that there is no practical possibility to prevent the right of veto. He draws attention to the role of the Secretary-General.

– The UN Secretary-General has flexible powers and is used differently by different Secretaries-General. They can sometimes act with the tacit approval of the Security Council.

Now the UN is in a situation where the other party to the conflict is a permanent member of the Security Council. So the Secretary-General’s options are more limited. However, Koskenniemi also sees an opportunity in this matter.

– It offers Russia an opportunity to reach a solution without losing face.

According to Koskenniemi, this would require the Secretary-General to have the ability to propose solutions behind the scenes.

President Zelenskyi has criticized Secretary-General Guterres’ decision to travel to Moscow before visiting Kiev. Koskenniemi fears that this is a sign that the UN has not been able to advance peace talks.

– I wondered if Guterres has taken on any role in this situation. On the other hand, the nature of the negotiations is that they are secret.