Ukraine war: ‘A just peace’ needed to end conflict, UN chief tells Putin at ‘new global order’ BRICS summit
The UN secretary general has told Vladimir Putin that “a just peace” is needed to end the Ukraine war.
Appearing alongside Mr Putin at a BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan, Antonio Guterres called on the Russian leader to agree a peace deal “in line with the UN Charter, international law and UN General Assembly resolutions”.
He said summit attendees: “Across the board, we need peace. We need peace in Ukraine.”
It comes after President Xi Jinping claimed on Wednesday that China and fellow BRICS member Brazil have put forward a peace plan for the war in Ukraine.
He told Mr Putin and other leaders at the three-day summit that they intend to rally further international support in the hope of bringing fighting there to an end.
Mr Xi said: “We must uphold the three key principles: no expansion of the battlefields, no escalation of hostilities, and no fanning flames and strive for swift de-escalation of the situation.”
The BRIC coalition formed in 2009, bringing together Brazil, Russia, India, and China. South Africa joined the following year, changing the name to BRICS.
It was largely disregarded at first – but it has since grown in both membership and influence with Russia’s war in Ukraine and Iran’s involvement in the wars in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon dominating global geopolitics.
Leaders in Kazan this week. Pic: Reuters
Just weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Mr Putin and Mr Xi signed a “no limits” partnership between their two countries.
Beijing, however, has kept largely quiet on the Ukraine war and not tried to use its influence on Moscow to bring it to an end. This week’s claims of a peace plan could result in new impetus for talks to resolve the conflict.
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin attend the BRICS summit in Kazan. Pic Reuters
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi added that his country “supports dialogue and diplomacy, not war”.
Mr Guterres has not visited Russia in over two years and the decision sparked criticism from Ukrainian officials.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry wrote on X ahead of the summit that his trip to Kazan would “only damage the UN’s reputation”.
“This is a wrong choice that does not advance the cause of peace,” it added, also rejecting the China-Brazil plan.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for Mr Guterres, responded by saying it is “standard practice in attending meetings of organisations with large numbers of important member states, such as the G7 and the G20” – pointing out that BRICS countries represent “half the world’s population”.
Notably, President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, which is a NATO member and hoping to enter the European Union, was also there.
Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi in Kazan. Pic: Reuters
Appearing alongside BRICS members on Thursday, Mr Guterres also called for peace in the conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, and Sudan.
On the Middle East, Mr Xi called for a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza.
Alternative payment system would counter sanctions
In a joint declaration bringing the three days to a close, BRICS members voiced concern about “the disruptive effect of unlawful unilateral coercive measures, including illegal sanctions”.
Mr Putin’s priority for the meeting was discussions of an alternative global payment system that could be used between members – after Russia was cut off from SWIFT at the outbreak of its invasion, due to Western sanctions.
As such, the attendees’ statement talked of a “faster, low-cost, more efficient, transparent, safe and inclusive cross-border payment instruments built upon the principle of minimising trade barriers and non-discriminatory access”.
Mr Putin said it was important as all the BRICS members “share similar aspirations and values and a vision of new democratic global order”.
Such a system would allow member countries to bypass the US dollar, which is currently used for oil transactions and other major international trade.
Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Pic: Reuters
On the sidelines of the summit, Mr Putin also met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
He reiterated the “truly friendly” ties between Russia and Iran that he hopes will be solidified with a “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty”, which is due to be signed by the pair on Mr Pezeshkian’s planned trip to Moscow.
A date for that visit has not been decided, Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said.
Commenting on the Middle East crisis, Mr Pezeshkian added: “The flames of war continue to rage in the Gaza Strip and
cities of Lebanon, and international institutions, particularly the UN Security Council as a driver of international peace and security, lack the necessary effectiveness to extinguish the fire of this crisis.”
Mr Modi and President Cyril Ramaphosa have chosen to go to the BRICS summit rather than, as leaders of India and South Africa, attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which is also taking place at the same time and is being visited by UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, among others.
Israel has approved a plan to capture all of the Gaza Strip and remain there for an unspecified length of time, Israeli officials say.
According to Reuters, the plan includes distributing aid, though supplies will not be let in yet.
The Israeli official told the agency that the newly approved offensive plan would move Gaza’s civilian population southward and keep humanitarian aid from falling into Hamas’s hands.
On Sunday, the United Nations rejected what it said was a new plan for aid to be distributed in what it described as Israeli hubs.
Israeli cabinet ministers approved plans for the new offensive on Monday morning, hours after it was announced that tens of thousands of reserve soldiers are being called up.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far failed to achieve his goal of destroying Hamas or returning all the hostages, despite more than a year of brutal war in Gaza.
Palestinian children struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, Gaza. Pic: AP
Officials say the plan will help with these war aims but it would also push hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to southern Gaza, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.
They said the plan included the “capturing of the strip and the holding of territories”.
It would also try to prevent Hamas from distributing humanitarian aid, which Israel says strengthens the group’s rule in Gaza.
The UN rejected the plan, saying it would leave large parts of the population, including the most vulnerable, without supplies.
It said it “appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy”.
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More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since the IDF launched its ground offensive in the densely-populated territory, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
It followed the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
A fragile ceasefire that saw a pause in the fighting and the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners collapsed earlier this year.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against the Houthis and their Iranian “masters” after the group launched a missile attack on the country’s main international airport.
A missile fired by the group from Yemen landed near Ben Gurion Airport, causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.
“Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran,” Mr Netanyahu wrote on X. “Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters.”
Israeli police officers investigate the missile crater. Pic: Reuters
The missile impact left a plume of smoke and briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at the airport. Some international carriers have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv for several days.
Four people were lightly wounded, paramedic service Magen David Adom said.
Air raid sirens went off across Israel and footage showed passengers yelling and rushing for cover.
The attack came hours before senior Israeli cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, and as the army began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in the enclave.
Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.
Iran’s defence minister later told a state TV broadcaster that if the country was attacked by the US or Israel, it would target their bases, interests and forces where necessary.
Israel’s military said several attempts to intercept the missile were unsuccessful.
Air, road and rail traffic were halted after the attack, police said, though it resumed around an hour later.
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Yemen’s Houthis have been firing missiles at Israel since its war with Hamas in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, and while most have been intercepted, some have penetrated the country’s missile defence systems and caused damage.
Israel has previously struck the group in Yemen in retaliation and the US and UK have also launched strikes after the Houthis began attacking international shipping, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas.
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