UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is ready to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during his anticipated visit to New York to attend UN events in April, Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the UN chief, said on Wednesday, Trend reports citing TASS.
"If he [Lavrov] comes to New York, and there's a meeting requested, of course, the secretary-general will meet with him," the spokesman said at a news conference. "The secretary-general <�…> meets with visiting ministers and heads of governments and presidents. The secretary-general will continue to speak to whomever he needs to speak to in order to do his job."
When asked about the position of the secretary-general about Russia’s upcoming presidency in the UN Security Council, the spokesman said issues related to Security Council presidency are outside the purview of the UN secretariat.
"The issue of membership in the intergovernmental bodies, legislative bodies of this organization, the issue of the rules by which they are governed and through which Member States preside over which body for one time or another is solely in the hands of the Member States," he said.