United Nations chief Antonio Guterres spoke to the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine on Monday, expressing “serious concern” over the heightened tensions between the countries, his spokesman said.
During the telephone talks, Guterres told Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dymtro Kuleba that diplomacy was the only way forward, said spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
“The secretary general expressed to both foreign ministers his serious concern over the heightened tensions around Ukraine,” Dujarric told reporters.
“He welcomed the ongoing diplomatic discussions to defuse those tensions and underline yet again the fact that there is no alternative to diplomacy,” the spokesman added. “I don’t believe his opinion has changed in any way,” said the spokesman during his daily briefing at the UN headquarters in New York.
