United Nations, Apr 20 (PTI) United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has written to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to receive him in Moscow and Kyiv "to discuss urgent steps to bring about peace in Ukraine."

Spokesperson for the Secretary General, Stephane Dujarric, told reporters Wednesday that on Tuesday afternoon two separate letters were handed over to the Permanent Missions of the Russian Federation and Ukraine.

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"In these letters, the Secretary-General asked President Vladimir Putin to receive him in Moscow and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to receive him in Kyiv. The Secretary-General said, at this time of great peril and consequence, he would like to discuss urgent steps to bring about peace in Ukraine and the future of multilateralism based on the Charter of the United Nations and international law," Dujarric said.

The UN Chief has noted that both Ukraine and Russia are founding members of the United Nations and have always been strong supporters of this Organisation.

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Russia began the invasion of Ukraine on February 24. The ensuing violence has led to thousands of deaths on both sides and over 5 million refugees.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)