Yesterday afternoon, separate letters were handed over to the Permanent Missions of the Russian Federation and Ukraine.

In these letters, the Secretary-General asked President Vladimir Putin to receive him in Moscow and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to receive him in Kyiv.

The Secretary-General said, at this time of great peril and consequence, he would like to discuss urgent steps to bring about peace in Ukraine and the future of multilateralism based on the Charter of the United Nations and international law.

He noted that both Ukraine and the Russian Federation are founding members of the United Nations and have always been strong supporters of this Organization.