Lavrov opens UN briefing Charter, reform and Bucha

Sep 24

Opening the press conference after the UN General Assembly high-level week, Sergey Lavrov says Russia has held nearly fifty meetings. He invokes the UN Charter, criticizes what he calls Western neocolonialism and the revival of Nazism, and describes meetings with CSTO states and the Group of Friends in Defence of the Charter. He reports launching Eurasian Charter drafting with Belarus and other delegations. He lists crises discussed and advocates additional Asian, African and Latin American Security Council representation rather than more Western seats. He accuses UN officials of departing from impartiality. Recalling his September 24 meeting with António Guterres, he says he challenged the different treatment of self-determination in Greenland and Ukraine; he reports Guterres considering the cases different. He also alleges a permanent U.S. military arrangement for Greenland. Turning to Bucha, Lavrov calls the April 2022 images staged, demands a list of victims, questions proposed memorialization and describes a Russian civic report distributed to delegations. These are his allegations and recollections, not independently established findings. He concludes that a future secretary-general should follow the Charter impartially.

In his September 26 press conference, Lavrov says he asked António Guterres two days earlier why the UN mentions self-determination for Greenland but not Ukraine. He attributes to Guterres a reply that the cases are different and criticizes that distinction. The broadcast contains Lavrov's recollection, not a recording or independent account of Guterres's reply. The September 27 report says Lavrov also handed Guterres a Russian civic report alleging that Bucha killings were staged. It quotes allegations that military personnel appear on the memorial and claims UN officials ignored Russian requests. These are Russian allegations about documented civilian killings; the broadcast offers no independent demonstration and does not show Guterres responding to the report.