United Nations's video: The sooner we end this war the better-for the people of Ukraine the Russian Federation -UN Chief

Ahead of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Secretary-General António Guterres met today (26 Apr) in Moscow with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and reiterated his “deep conviction that the sooner we end this war, the better – for the people of Ukraine, for the people of the Russian Federation, and those far beyond.” Speaking to the press after meeting with the Foreign Minister, the Secretary-General said he travelled to Moscow as a “messenger of peace” and his objective is “to save lives and to reduce suffering.” He warned that “today, across the Donbas, a violent battle is underway with tremendous death and destruction” and expressed his concern about “the repeated reports of violations of international humanitarian and human rights law and possible war crimes,” which require “independent investigation for effective accountability.” He said, according to the UN, in line with the resolutions passed by the General Assembly, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a violation of its territorial integrity and against the Charter of the United Nations. Guterres said, “we urgently need 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, he has 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.” The Secretary-General said that the United Nations is “ready to fully mobilize its human and logistical resources to help save lives in Mariupol.” He said his proposal is for “a coordinated work of the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Ukrainian and Russian Federation 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 choose, and to deliver the humanitarian aid required.” Following the press encounter, the Secretary-General met with President Putin. During the tête-a-tête meeting, the Secretary-General 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.