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00:00Next, UN Secretary-General António Guterres pleaded for a just peace in Ukraine this Thursday
00:06at the BRICS summit hosted by President Vladimir Putin.
00:10Speaking on the final day of the summit, Guterres also demanded the release of hostages and
00:14an end to Israel's wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
00:17But Guterres' visit has also drawn sharp criticism from many in the West, as Emerald
00:22Maxwell now tells us.
00:26Guterres' attendance at this year's BRICS summit in Russia was criticised by Ukraine.
00:31But UN Chief António Guterres used the opportunity at a roundtable with Vladimir Putin to reiterate
00:39his call for peace.
00:41Across the board, we need peace. We need peace in Ukraine. A just peace in line with UN Charter,
00:50international law and General Assembly resolutions.
00:54For his part, the Russian President, who chaired the summit, warned against illusory attempts
01:00to defeat Russia on the battlefield. He also criticised the West, accusing it of trying
01:05to contain the growing power of the global South.
01:11The transition to a more just world order is not going smoothly. Its development is
01:16being slowed down by forces accustomed to thinking in terms of dominance over everything
01:21and everyone. Illegal unilateral sanctions, outright protectionism, manipulation of currency
01:27and stock markets, interference in internal affairs under the slogan of concern for democracy
01:32and human rights and the fight against climate change are used.
01:37Putin also called for reform of the United Nations, giving Asia, Africa and Latin America
01:43a more important role. Moscow hopes the BRICS group, which now accounts for 45% of the world's
01:50population, will help forge a united front of emerging economies against the West.
01:57The new batch of members this year, including Egypt and Iran, showed signs of the group's
02:01growing weight. Although divisions and internal rivalries, particularly between China and
02:07India, remain.
02:20As you heard in that report, António Guterres has drawn sharp criticism for attending the
02:26summit. I'd like to get your thoughts first on the reason for his attendance.
02:32Thank you very much, first of all, for having me on your show. Well, I think Guterres' decision
02:39to meet with President Putin and to shake hands and to have this PR moment, for Putin
02:46to have this PR moment, is rightly criticized because the UN is sending quite confusing
02:52messages with this meeting, especially in light of the existing arrest warrant for Putin
02:58issued by the International Criminal Court. Guterres, as we know, has been involved in
03:03peace efforts between Russia and Ukraine for a while, and he has had some successes, especially
03:12at earlier stages when he managed to broker a deal which involved Ukraine safely exporting
03:20the grain. But that was in 2022. Since then, he hasn't really had much successes in terms
03:28of brokering any peace deal with Russia. So I suppose his attempts to frame this meeting
03:36as something that could benefit the peace, achieving peace, is a bit exaggerated, while
03:43at the same time, he has received much criticism because of the fact that he has given this
03:50moment to Putin to basically promote the idea that he's not isolated at the world stage
03:57and he's still able to have these high-level important meetings and to also demonstrate
04:03to Russian citizens that Russia is doing quite well on the diplomatic front.
04:09And what does the summit mean regarding Ukraine, and could there be an attempt from Guterres
04:14at a peace deal?
04:16Well, this summit, first of all, I think has a great PR value for Russia. I don't think
04:24for Ukraine, in terms of any tangible results of brokering any kind of peace deal, it will
04:32have any sort of outputs. But, of course, Guterres mentioned that, and he has criticized
04:41before Russia's war against Ukraine, and he mentioned that it is important to achieve
04:46just peace. But the problem is that it is precisely President Putin who is not interested
04:53in just peace. And we have seen that Ukraine was mentioned by BRICS leaders. They did raise
05:00this point, but it was quite at a superficial level. So, in that sense, I don't really think
05:07that Ukraine will have – that there will be any sort of successes with regards to achieving
05:17– brokering any deal with regards to achieving peace in Ukraine.
05:23And of course, Guterres and Putin are holding bilateral talks on the sidelines of this summit.
05:29We don't have any concrete information yet, but what do you think we can expect to come
05:33out of this meeting?
05:35Well, yes, it was mentioned that there will be a bilateral meeting. That has very much
05:42angered the Ukrainian side. They mentioned that it's a wrong choice, and this does not
05:48advance the cause of peace. And instead, it damages the UN's reputation. I mean, I don't
05:56think Ukraine would be the only issue that will be discussed at this meeting. But in
06:02any case, I don't think Guterres will have any sort of diplomatic victories out of this
06:09meeting, because I think Putin's messages were quite indicative that Russia is trying
06:16to send a message to the world that sanctions do not work, that Putin is not isolated on
06:23the geopolitical stage. And he was quite aggressive when he mentioned that – his rhetoric was
06:31quite aggressive towards the West when he mentioned that there are efforts basically
06:37to weaken Russia and to achieve Russian defeat on the battlefield, which will not work.
06:47So you're saying that this is a good PR move, obviously, for Vladimir Putin, and you said
06:50that the summit maybe perhaps is a way for Putin to show that Russia is not isolated
06:57on the world stage amid its ongoing aggression in Ukraine. Do you think that he's succeeding
07:04in doing this? And how do you think the West, not just Ukraine, but its Western allies are
07:08perceiving the summit?
07:10To a certain extent, because we have seen that the city of Kazan has hosted leaders
07:18and representatives from 36 countries. And in terms of PR side of things, I think this
07:29was, as I mentioned, this was Putin's attempt to show the world and to ordinary Russians
07:34as well that he is not in isolation. Of course, we have seen criticisms from the Western side,
07:41and when it comes to the Western standing with regards to this summit and overall with
07:48regards to Russia's efforts to gain allies, especially when it comes to supporting its
07:57war effort in Ukraine, of course, that is being criticized, and the West is pretty much
08:02united when it comes to this issue. But, I mean, Putin has also mentioned, for example,
08:10that there are a number of countries that are interested in, 30 countries to be precise,
08:16that have expressed an interest, desire to join BRICS. And the Russian media has also
08:25portrayed this as a massive diplomatic success. So, in terms of the PR value, I think Putin
08:32will be able to sell this event quite successfully for its domestic consumption and also in countries
08:42where Russia has traditionally gained more support. Of course, in the Western eyes, this
08:47is Putin's desperate move in a way to demonstrate that all the Western efforts are failing.
08:55All right. Natia Saskoria from Russia, thank you so much for your time and speaking to
09:00us on France 24 and for your analysis. Thank you for having me.