UN chief urges dialogue to end war in Ukraine

MOSCOW

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday he has arrived in Russia to do "everything" possible to end the war in Ukraine.

At a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, Guterres stressed the need to forge a way forward through dialogue.

"I know that we have today, facing a complex situation in Ukraine, different interpretations about what is happening in Ukraine, that does not limit the possibility to have a very serious dialogue on the best we can work to minimize the suffering of the people.

"We are extremely interested in finding ways in order to create the conditions for effective dialogue, create conditions for cease-fire as soon as possible, create conditions for a peaceful solution," Guterres said.

The head of the UN then added that he is also interested in "everything that can be done to minimize the impact in different parts of the world."

Guterres added that there are a number of other points on the agenda that he would like to discuss "in-depth with the Russian Federation."

For his part, Lavrov said he appreciates the UN chief's desire to have another round of talks "at this hard time" in order to be able "to consider properly and in-depth how to develop the UN and the true multilateralism principles."

"I must say these principles of multilateralism for a number of years have been flaunted by the West that took the tactics of instilling in the world arena the unilateral order," he said.

The true multilateralism must be based on the UN Charter, which enshrines the principle of sovereign equality of states, Lavrov said.

"We will discuss all other issues that you consider important and then you'll have a meeting with the president of the Russian Federation, which shows the importance that we attach to our contacts with the UN," the minister said.

At least 2,665 civilians have been killed and 3,053 injured in Ukraine since Russia launched a war on Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be much higher.

More than 5.2 million Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries, according to the UN refugee agency.