Their meeting took place on Thursday, in Kazan, Russia, the venue for the 16th BRICS Summit.

In a post on social media platform X, Guterres wrote on Friday that during the meeting, he had emphasized to President Putin the illegality of the Russian invasion.

“I reiterated the points I made in the Summit session,” Guterres said.

The BRICS group was founded by Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2006 – with South Africa joining in 2010 – and has since expanded to a bloc of nations which collectively represents nearly half of the world’s population.

Addressing the Summit on Thursday, the Secretary-General highlighted the need for peace in Ukraine, “a just peace in line with the UN Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions.”

He also emphasized the importance of upholding everywhere the values of the UN Charter, the rule of law, and the principles of sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of States.

In his meeting with Putin, Secretary-General Guterres also expressed his strong support for the establishment of an agreement for safe navigation in the Black Sea, which an essential avenue for global food security.

“The Secretary-General expressed his belief that establishing freedom of navigation in the Black Sea is of paramount importance for Ukraine, the Russian Federation and for the world’s food and energy security,” according to a readout of the meeting issued by the Guterres’ spokesperson.  

“He fully supports the continuation of negotiations in this regard and expresses his deep appreciation for the work being done by Türkiye,” the readout added.

Transport of agricultural goods, in particular grain from Ukraine and other ports on the Black Sea, as well as fertilizers have been severely affected since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, jeopardizing food security and skyrocketing prices globally.

Brokered by the UN and Türkiye in July 2022, the Black Sea Grain Initiative and the subsequent parallel accord between UN and Russia were crucial in restoring trade in the vital commodities.  

The Initiative was not renewed after its third term, which expired on 17 July 2023, impacting again the trade route.

At a news briefing in New York on Friday, a UN spokesperson addressed questions about Secretary-General António Guterres’ meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite an active International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant against the Russian leader.

UN Deputy Spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said that any engagement between UN officials and individuals under indictment is based strictly on operational necessity.

“There are very clear operational issues that we have to deal with,” Haq explained, referring to the readout from the meeting and noted concerns about the war in Ukraine and safe navigation in the Black Sea.

“These are all reasons for having a meeting such as this, again, under strict conditions in terms of dealing with operational matters, while you have to deal with indicted personnel.”