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In an interview with France 24’s Marc Perelman and RFI’s Christophe Boisbouvier two days before the UN General Assembly, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he hoped the ICC would investigate the alleged massacre in Izium. Hundreds of Ukrainians “in order to know who is responsible for these atrocities”.
During the interview, the Portuguese diplomat raised several issues, including the war in Ukraine. When asked about the possible evolution of the conflict, he replied: “I’m worried about a military escalation. The prospects for peace talks are very slim. The Ukrainians and the Russians think they can win this war and I don’t think there will be a serious peace in the short term. negotiation”. According to him, the only positive is that the current discussions should clear the blockage, following the July double agreement on Ukrainian and Russian exports of grains and fertilizers.
Train and equip police officers in Haiti
Regarding the Iranian nuclear issue, Antonio Guterres said that a deal is within reach, but he is now facing enormous difficulties. In Xinxiang, the UN secretary-general called for respect for Uighurs’ human rights and cultural and religious identity. Regarding Haiti, António Guterres suggested an international plan to support the training and equipment of the Haitian National Police to make it a “powerful force capable of stopping gang operations”.
Resolving case of Ivorian soldier detained in Mali
Regarding the 46 Ivorian soldiers detained in Mali since 10 July, the UN Secretary-General has made it clear that they are not mercenaries, that he will be hosting Mali’s delegation to the UN General Assembly in the coming days and called on the Bamako authorities to solve this problem. Finally, with regard to the war in eastern DRC, Antonio Guterres commented that the M23 rebels had “heavier equipment more advanced than MONUSCO’s equipment”. Are these devices from Rwanda? “They come from somewhere…but not from the forest,” the secretary-general replied.