Russia Hopes New UN Chief Fixes Guterres' Errors
— We expect that the future head of the secretariat (UN — note «VM») will conduct thorough work to correct the monstrous mistakes of António Guterres, his so-called team, as a result of which the UN has truly fallen into a crisis, — the diplomat noted during the briefing.
Consensus
- Russia hopes the next UN Secretary-General will correct the 'monstrous errors' of current UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
- Maria Zakharova, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, made the statement on August 20.
- The UN is said to have entered a crisis due to Guterres' leadership and his 'team'.
- Russia believes the new secretary-general should maintain an impartial stance, follow the UN Charter, and promote a unifying agenda.
- The selection process for the next UN Secretary-General is ongoing, with several candidates in contention.
- The next secretary-general is expected to be from Latin America, following regional rotation rules.
- The current term of António Guterres ends on December 31, 2026.
Points of divergence
- Rebeca González (Costa Rica) leads the race after the first secret preliminary vote in the Security Council, with 10 votes in favor, 4 abstentions, and 1 against. — vedomosti
- Caroline Rodriguez-Berkett (Guyana) received 9 votes in favor, 2 against, and 4 abstentions in the first vote. — vedomosti
- Rafael Grossi, head of IAEA, is running for UN Secretary-General and has been linked to his statement about the UN's declining relevance. — vedomosti
- Zakharova dismissed Grossi's claim that the UN is 'dying' as 'exaggerated', attributing it to his campaign. — vedomosti
- Seven candidates are currently in the race for the UN Secretary-General position. — vesti
- Rafael Grossi stated on August 13 that the UN is 'slowly dying' and failing to contribute to resolving recent crises or international conflicts. — vm
- Grossi also expressed disappointment with the UN's performance on social programs and climate change. — vm
Coverage (3 sources)
- Zakhrova: Russia hopes that the new UN secretary-general will correct Guterrish's mistakes — Ведомости
- In the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they expect that the new UN secretary-general will correct Guterres' mistakes — Вести
- Foreign Ministry: Moscow expects that the new UN head will correct Guterres' mistakes — Вечерняя Москва
Key entities
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