KAZAN, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday against “illusory” attempts to defeat Russia on the battlefield ahead of his first meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in more than two years for talks set to focus on the conflict in Ukraine.
Putin was speaking in the central Russian city of Kazan on the final day of the Brics summit, a forum that Moscow hopes would help forge a united front of emerging economies against the West.
Russia’s opponents “do not conceal their aim to deal our country a strategic defeat,” Putin said. “I will say directly that these are illusory calculations that can be made only by those who do not know Russia’s history.”
At the meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping also warned about “serious challenges” in the world and said he hoped Brics member-countries could be a “stabilizing force for peace.”
“We need to continue to push for a ceasefire in Gaza, relaunch the two-state solution and stop the spread of war in Lebanon. There should be no more suffering and destruction in Palestine and Lebanon,” Xi said.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian slammed the UN Security Council’s role as Guterres listened, saying international bodies “lack the necessary efficiency to extinguish the fire of this crisis.”
Putin said the Middle East was “on the verge of full-scale war.”
He has faced calls from his Brics allies to end the war in Ukraine, which began when he sent troops to that country on Feb. 24, 2022.
Guterres has repeatedly criticized Moscow’s invasion, saying it set a “dangerous precedent” for the world.
The two men last saw each other in the first weeks of the offensive, when Guterres traveled to Moscow during Russia’s siege of Mariupol in southern Ukraine.
Guterres has since been involved in peace efforts between the two sides, helping to broker a deal that allowed Kyiv to safely export grain from its ports in 2022.
There has been little direct diplomatic contact between the two countries since.
‘No place in modern world’
Ukraine has strongly criticized the UN chief’s decision to meet Putin.
Putin has demanded Ukraine to surrender territory in its south and east as a precondition for a ceasefire, a position Kyiv has called “absurd.”
The Putin-Guterres talks come as Moscow’s troops advance in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, edging closer to the key supply hub of Pokrovsk.
Ukraine has condemned Guterres’ Russia visit, with Kyiv’s Foreign Ministry blasting him for planning to meet the “criminal Putin.”
The pair will meet a day after the United States said it believed “thousands” of North Korean soldiers were being trained in Russia.
“We don’t know what their mission will be or if they’ll go on to fight in Ukraine,” a senior US official said.
Putin has not yet commented on the reports.
At the summit, several world leaders called for an end to the Ukraine conflict.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — who has also tried to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv — said on Tuesday he wanted the conflict to be resolved “peacefully.”
“We totally support efforts to quickly restore peace and stability,” he said.
New Delhi has walked a delicate tightrope since Moscow’s invasion began, pledging humanitarian support for Kyiv while avoiding explicit condemnation of Moscow’s actions.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has also urged an end to the conflict.
