Necessary to create conditions for dialogue on Ukraine: UN chief

Moscow, April 26 (UNI/Sputnik) It is necessary to create the conditions for a dialogue on Ukraine and a ceasefire as soon as possible, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday.
“We are extremely interested in finding ways in order to create the conditions for effective dialogue, create the conditions for a ceasefire as soon as possible, create conditions for a peaceful solution,” Guterres said at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.
Lavrov, in turn, said that Russia has demonstrated its openness to the UN-proposed discussion on Ukraine.
“We responded quickly to your initiative to have another contact in Moscow on a number of important issues, including, of course, the situation in Ukraine, which is catalyzing many problems that have accumulated over the past decades in the Euro-Atlantic,” Lavrov said at the meeting.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lavrov are receiving the UN Secretary-General for talks as part of his working visit to the Russian capital. The discussion is set to raise international issues, including the situation in Syria, Libya and the Middle East.
Guterres is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Thursday.
Guterres also suggested to create a humanitarian contact group that would bring Russia, Ukraine and the UN together.
“I have proposed the establishment of the humanitarian contact group bringing together the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the UN to look for opportunities for the opening of safe corridors with local cessation of hostilities and to guarantee that they are actually effective,” Guterres said following his meeting with Lavrov.
Lavrov also said that it is premature to talk about any mediators in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
“We are ready for negotiations, if someone has interesting ideas, we will be ready to listen to them. Ukrainian negotiators did not talk about mediation as such, at least now, at the previous stages … It is too early to talk about mediators at this stage, in my opinion,” Lavrov told reporters following a meeting with Guterres.
The Russian side first wants to get an answer to the latest version of the draft peace agreement, which was submitted more than 10 days ago, the minister added.
The veto right in the UN Security Council is not going anywhere, Lavrov said while commenting on the upcoming vote on a resolution to reform the Security Council veto power to require an explanation of its use.
The resolution — put forward by Liechtenstein — has received co-sponsorship from 50 countries including the United States. If passed, the five permanent Security Council members would be required to justify their use of veto powers. The vote is expected later on Tuesday.
“The veto right is not going anywhere, I can responsibly confirm this. The right of veto is one of the supporting pillars of the UN,” Lavrov told reporters following a meeting with Guterres.
The resolution will not influence in any way the negotiations that have been underway for many years to reform the UNSC, the Russian minister added.