UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that as of today, he sees no chance for Russia to withdraw from the occupied territories, while Ukraine believes in their return.
"There are no signs that the conflict in Ukraine can be ended in the near future," Guterres said in an interview with the Spanish daily El Pais.
Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia are currently impossible because "both sides are confident that they can win," Guterres said, emphasizing that Russia is the aggressor and "has violated international law."
He emphasized that the condition for a peace agreement in Ukraine should be "justice and respect for international law and the UN Charter."
"At the moment, we are very far from fulfilling these conditions," Guterres added.
On Monday, Spain's monarch Philip VI awarded Antonio Guterres in recognition of his services to European values and European integration.
During the award ceremony, Guterres said that, in particular, it was because of Russia's war against Ukraine that "European values have never been under such a threat as they are now since the founding of the UN and the founding of the EU."
He added that today the EU and the world need, above all, effective diplomatic action.
Background. As a reminder, China voted at the UN for the first time to recognize Russia as an "aggressor."