Zakharova demands “thorough work” to correct Guterres’s “monstrous mistakes”

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the UN under current Secretary-General António Guterres has fallen into crisis and needs “a certain shake-up.”

In Zakharova’s assessment, the organization is increasingly finding itself on the periphery of resolving international crises, and its work is being hampered by bureaucracy, double standards, and financial difficulties. The diplomat placed significant responsibility for the situation directly on the organization’s leadership.

Zakharova said that Guterres’s position on a number of key issues is biased and prevents the UN from responding effectively to pressing international problems. She also accused certain representatives of the organization of aligning themselves with the approaches of Western states.

Moscow, according to Zakharova, expects the new UN Secretary-General to carry out large-scale work to correct the accumulated shortcomings. Russia’s Foreign Ministry considers a serious overhaul of the organization’s activities necessary, as well as closer cooperation among the permanent members of the UN Security Council.

“We expect the future head of the secretariat to carry out thorough work to correct the monstrous mistakes of António Guterres and his so-called team, as a result of which the UN has truly plunged into crisis — and this crisis has its authors,” Zakharova said.

Earlier, a candidate for the post of UN Secretary-General, former Ecuadorian ambassador to the United States and France Yvonne Baki, declared her love for Russia.