MOSCOW, October 10. /TASS/. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres announced his intention to attend the BRICS summit in Kazan at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS.
"Yes. He spoke about his intention during a meeting with Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov on the sidelines of the UNGA," Zakharova said in response to a related question.
Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin stated that Guterres' participation in the BRICS summit would provide "an interesting and substantial interaction with a power bloc in international relations that is visibly gaining authority." Guterres' spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, confirmed that the UN is aware of the secretary general's invitation to the BRICS summit in Kazan, but was not yet ready to discuss his schedule.