MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres is not authorized to indulge in interpreting the norms of the UN Charter and making partisan political statements, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday, commenting on Guterres’ pronouncements about the referendums in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), and in the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions.
According to Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry took note of Guterres’ "biased statements" of September 29, in particular, of his allegations that the accession of these territories to Russia would have no legal force and deserves condemnation.
"We would like to recall that Article 97 of the UN Charter assigns to the secretary general the role of "the chief administrative officer of the Organization." His competences grant him no right to make biased political statements on behalf of the entire organization. Neither is the chief administrative officer authorized to interpret the norms of the Charter and the General Assembly documents, including the 1970 Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations," she stressed.