UN chief Guterres visited Ukraine; backs thorough investigation into war crime allegations by ICC

United Nations/Kiyv, Apr 28 (PTI) Asserting that war cannot be acceptable in the 21st century, UN chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday voiced his support for a thorough investigation and accountability into war crimes by the International Criminal Court and appealed to Russia “to accept to cooperate” with the body.

Secretary General Guterres, who met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow before arriving in Ukraine on Thursday, visited different locations outside of Kiyv, destroyed by the Russian invasion.

At the Church of St Andrew the First-Called All Saints in Bucha, Guterres said that when “we this horrendous site, it makes me feel how important it is a thorough investigation and accountability. I am glad that the International Criminal Court is seized of the situation and that the prosecutor's office was already here. I fully support the International Criminal Court and I appeal to the Russian Federation to accept to cooperate with the International Criminal Court. But when we talk about war crimes, we cannot forget that the worst of crimes is war itself.” In Borodyanka town, he said that when he sees the destroyed buildings, he imagines his own family in one of those houses that is now destroyed and black. "I see my granddaughters running away in panic, part of the family eventually killed. So, the war is an absurdity in the 21st century. The war is evil. And when one sees these situations our heart, of course, stays with the victims. Our condolences to their families, but are emotions are that there is no way a war can be acceptable in the 21st century. Look at that.” At a destroyed Irpinsky Lipki residential complex in Irpin, he said this horrific scenario demonstrates something that is unfortunately, always true, “civilians always pay the highest price. Innocent civilians were living in these buildings. They were paying the highest price for a war for which they had not contributed at all. And this is something everybody should remember, everywhere in the world. Wherever there is a war, the highest price is paid by civilians.” Guterres arrived Wednesday in Ukraine for his meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after his visit to Moscow where he met Putin who agreed “in principle” to the involvement of the UN in evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol.

“I have arrived in Ukraine after visiting Moscow. We will continue our work to expand humanitarian support & secure the evacuation of civilians from conflict zones. The sooner this war ends, the better – for the sake of Ukraine, Russia, and the world,” Guterres had tweeted.

Guterres and his team travelled from Rzeszow, Poland to Kyiv, Ukraine. On Thursday, the Secretary-General will meet Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

According to a readout of his tête-a-tête meeting with Putin, Guterres reiterated the United Nations’ position on Ukraine, and they discussed the proposals for humanitarian assistance and evacuation of civilians from conflict zones, namely in relation to the situation in Mariupol.

“The President agreed, in principle, to the involvement of the United Nations and the International Committee for the Red Cross in the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. Follow-on discussions will be had with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Russian Defence Ministry,” the readout said.

Two months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Guterres travelled to meet Putin and Zelenskyy as he called for “urgent steps to save lives, end the human suffering and bring about peace in Ukraine.” “As Secretary-General of the United Nations, I came to Moscow as a messenger of peace. My objective and my agenda is strictly linked to save lives and to reduce suffering,” Guterres said in Moscow Tuesday during a press encounter with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

In Moscow, the UN Chief underlined the urgent need for humanitarian corridors that are truly safe and effective and that are respected by all to evacuate civilians and deliver much-needed assistance. “To that end, I have proposed the establishment of a Humanitarian Contact Group, bringing together the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the United Nations, to look for opportunities for the opening of safe corridors, with local cessations of hostilities, and to guarantee that they are actually effective,” he said.

Recognising that "we face a crisis within a crisis in Mariupol”, with thousands of civilians in dire need of life-saving humanitarian assistance, and many, of evacuation, Guterres proposed a coordinated work of the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Ukrainian and Russian forces to enable the safe evacuation of those civilians who want to leave, both inside the Azovstal plant and in the city, in any direction they chose, and to deliver the humanitarian aid required.