Guterres asks to negotiate for peace: "Instead of bullets, we need diplomatic arsenals"

The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, proclaimed this Tuesday that, “instead of bullets”, it is necessary to resort to “diplomatic arsenals” and negotiation as ways to make peace possible in Ukraine and in other countries where there are wars, opining that “building bridges is the only option”.

“Negotiation, mediation, conciliation, arbitration…. We must try everything to resolve our disagreements peacefully”, Guterres defended after receiving the 16th edition of the Carlos V Award from Felipe VI at the traditional ceremony held at the Monastery of Yuste (Cáceres), coinciding with Europe Day.

The former Portuguese Prime Minister has lamented that “peace is weakened” and that violence “runs rampant in too many corners of the planet”.

In the case of Ukraine, Guterres has condemned the invasion of Russia for violating international law and the United Nations Charter, and has stressed that, for peace to be lasting, “it must be based on respect and protection of the human rights in its entirety.

“Peace should never be underestimated or taken for granted.. We must work for and for her, every day, without rest. In a world tearing itself apart, we must heal divisions, prevent escalations, listen to grievances. Instead of bullets, we need diplomatic arsenals,” he said..

For the head of the UN, “today more than ever, in a fractured world, building bridges is the only option”.

In the presence of the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, and the Defense Minister, Margarita Robles, Guterres did not mention the position of the United States and EU countries to provide weapons to Ukraine.

Nor has he cited the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, on the day in which Moscow commemorates Victory Day with the military parade in Red Square.

To his recipes for how to end the war, the Portuguese politician added: “There will only be lasting peace if we achieve the full participation and leadership of women at the decision-making tables”.

The Carlos V award, granted by the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation, recognizes the work of people, organizations or initiatives that have contributed to the construction of Europe and the promotion of its values.

Guterres has been in favor of renewing the EU “without giving up its identity” so that it continues to be at the forefront in defending values such as dialogue, respect and human rights.

“Only a united Europe can face the enormous challenges of the present and the future. The world needs a strong Europe, which looks outwards, not a Europe closed in on itself”, has claimed the socialist politician.

He has also advocated “reinventing multilateralism”, for which he has considered “unity and courage” necessary, in addition to “original, comprehensive and lasting solutions”..

A task that he described as “herculean”, but added: “Now is the time to, once again, rise to the occasion”.

“History teaches us that it is in the most difficult moments when the human being stands out,” Guterres completed in a speech entirely in Spanish..

The former Prime Minister of Portugal has referred to the climate emergency and the obligation to seek “peace with nature” when warning that “the war that is being waged against the planet is endangering the very survival of humanity”.

Climate “chaos”, continued Guterres, “inflames conflicts”, for which he has argued that “acting for the planet is acting for peace” and in favor of justice.

In his pacifist plea, the Portuguese politician stressed that “there can be no lasting peace without solidarity or equality”, after denouncing that the current “international financial system is profoundly unfair” due to the ever-widening gap between the northern countries and from the south.

“The poorest countries are suffocated by debt, while the richest have been able to invest in a strong economic recovery. This economic and social division risks producing political fractures. This injustice is a threat to peace”, Guterres has rebuked.

The 74-year-old UN Secretary General has confessed that he feels “excited” to join the list of winners of the Carlos V Award, which includes personalities such as Jacques Delors, winner of the first edition in 1995; Felipe Gonzalez; Mikhail Gorbachev; Helmut Kohl; José Manuel Durão Barroso, or Angela Merkel.

Endowed with 30,000 euros, Guterres has donated half to the UN Agency for Refugees (Acnur), of which he was high commissioner between 2005 and 2015, and the other to scholarships for students who are trained in migration and human rights.