“Significant and controversial” is not just a message to Russia: how should Guterres’ decision to meet Putin be read?

In recent days, the arrival of the Portuguese, UN Secretary General, has been highly anticipated and filled with expectation. And there was no shortage of criticism from Ukraine and its allies either. But António Guterres actually traveled to Russia.

The Kremlin has already anticipated that the Russian President and the Secretary General of the United Nations will talk about the war in Ukraine, as well as the escalation in the Middle East. It is the first time in two years that the two have met, after, in the first weeks of the offensive, Guterres traveled to Moscow during the Russian siege of Mariupol, in southern Ukraine.