UN chief appeals: ‘Forge a path to safety’ during a 4-day Holy Week humanitarian truce:
Report: Muhammad Amir Siddique UNIS Vienna Austria.
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The Secretary-General will visit Moscow, Russian Federation, where, on 26 April, he will have a working meeting and lunch with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and will be received by President Vladimir Putin. After around two months of war in Ukraine,
Russian President Vladimir Putin will receive UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Moscow on Tuesday, according to information from the Kremlin. Guterres will also hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said yesterday. The UN chief had requested a meeting with Putin. This year, Orthodox Holy Week is being observed under a “cloud of a war” that totally negates the Easter message of unity, the UN chief said on Tuesday,
calling for a four-day humanitarian pause in Ukraine. In five days, Ukrainians and Russians will mark Easter, a holiday that joins in celebration the Orthodox Christians in both Russia and Ukraine, as well as Catholic Ukrainians.“Easter is a season for renewal, resurrection and hope. It is a time for reflection on the meaning of suffering, sacrifice, death – and rebirth. It is meant to be a moment of unity,” Secretary-General António Guterres told journalist, speaking in front of the Non-Violence bronze sculpture at UN Headquarters in New York. I urge all parties – and all champions of peace around the world — to join my Easter appeal. Save lives stop the bloodshed and destruction.
Open a window for dialogue and peace. Against the backdrop of many failed “good-faith efforts” by numerous parties to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine, the Secretary-General called for a four-day Holy Week humanitarian pause beginning on Holy Thursday and running through Easter Sunday, 24 April, to allow for a series of humanitarian corridors to open. He explained that a humanitarian pause would provide the necessary conditions to meet two crucial imperatives, beginning with
safe passage of all civilians willing to leave the areas of current and expected confrontation. This would be done in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross. Secondly, beyond humanitarian operations already taking place, a pause would allow for the safe delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid to people in the hardest-hit areas such as Mariupol, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk. “The United Nations is ready to send humanitarian aid convoys during this period to these locations,” he assured. “We are submitting detailed plans to the parties. There is “a measure of progress to build upon,” the UN chief said, noting that over the past seven weeks, some 2.5 million people have been provided with assistance, including many in the east. “For all these life-or-death reasons, I call on Russians and Ukrainians to silence the guns and forge a path to safety for so many at immediate risk,” he appealed. “The four-day Easter period
should be a moment to unite around saving lives and furthering dialogue to end the suffering in Ukraine. Mr. Guterres explained that earlier in the day, Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths briefed the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations – including Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim and Jewish leaders. The Secretary-General welcomed their
support and “inspired by Holy Week and all that it represents”, urged all parties and all champions of peace around the world to join his Easter appeal.
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