UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday that he had sent letters to Russian and Ukrainian leaders Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky asking them to be received in Moscow and Kiev.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the UN has withdrawn from the conflict, due, among other things, to the division between the five permanent members of the Security Council, of which Moscow is a member, with Washington, Paris, London and Beijing.

“At this time of grave danger to its consequences, he wishes to discuss urgent measures to bring peace to Ukraine and the future of multilateralism on the basis of the UN Charter and international law,” the spokesperson said. said.

Antonio Guterres added that “Ukraine and the Russian Federation are founding members of the UN and have always been strong supporters of the UN”.

Through his letters to the Russian and Ukrainian diplomatic missions at the UN, the Secretary General is trying to retake the initiative and restart the dialogue for a peaceful solution to the intensifying war in Ukraine.

Antonio Guterres has so far had little contact with the Ukrainian president, whom he only had a phone call on February 26.

Meanwhile, the Russian president is denying any contact with Antonio Guterres after accusing him of violating the UN Charter by invading Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Guterres condemned Russia’s new offensive in eastern Ukraine and urged both sides to stop the war in a four-day “humanitarian break” on the occasion of Orthodox Easter.