Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused the visit of Secretary General Antonio Guterres to Ukraine due to his participation in the BRICS summit, AFP reports citing a high-ranking source in the President's Office of Ukraine.

"After Kazan, (Guterres) wanted to come to Ukraine, but the president did not confirm his visit. So Guterres won't be here, specifically because of the humiliation of sanity and international law in Kazan," the source said.

The sixteenth BRICS summit was held in Kazan from October 22 to 24. The meeting between Putin and Guterres was scheduled for Thursday, October 24.

Guterres visited Russia last time on April 26, 2022. During that trip, he was welcomed by the Russian president and met with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry criticized Guterres' decision to visit Kazan, recalling that the UN Secretary General rejected Ukraine's invitation to the first Global Peace Summit in Switzerland in June.