KIEV: Following his visit to Russia, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced his arrival in Ukraine, where he will meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday. On Wednesday evening, the UN Secretary-General took to Twitter to say: "After visiting Moscow, I landed in Ukraine. We will keep working to increase humanitarian aid and ensure the safe evacuation of civilians from combat zones.
The sooner this war ends, the better for Ukraine, Russia, and the rest of the globe." Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in principle to the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to assist with the evacuation of residents from the Azovstal facility in Ukraine's beleaguered city of Mariupol at a meeting with Guterres in Moscow on Tuesday.
According to a UN official, the global body is following up on a deal with Russia to manage the evacuation of civilians in Azovstal. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Russian Defense Ministry were to hold follow-up talks.
During their meeting, Putin also told UN Secretary-General that the Ukrainian issue arose following Kiev's "unconstitutional coup" in 2014, and that people in Donbas have been subjected to a blockade and military pressure even after the Minsk agreements on a peaceful settlement were reached.
The "republics" of Donbas have the right to declare their sovereignty, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Russia has the right to recognise their independence and supply them with military aid in full compliance with the UN Charter.
Guterres urged that the UN, Russia, and Ukraine form a contact group to discuss the situation and ensure that the humanitarian corridors are actually effective. Prior to his travel to Moscow, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Monday.
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