U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived at the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan on Oct. 22, despite criticism from Ukraine, Voice of America reported.
The BRICS group, a bloc of countries that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates, is convening in Kazan for a three-day summit from Oct. 22-24. According to Moscow, 36 world leaders are participating in the conference.
Guterres is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the event on Oct. 24, according to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry criticized the U.N. secretary general’s visit.
Yes, the Middle East is a rough, regressive, oppressive neighborhood. Islam has a lot to do with that.
But there are Muslim countries that have shown an interest in at least progressing from the most archaic and extreme interpretations of Islam. Those countries are pursuing normalization with Israel not because they suddenly like Jews, but because they respect the strength and prosperity of Israel and recognize it as a valuable partner for their own national development. These countries have put their past conflicts with Israel behind them.
Ironically, the people of Iran are among the least antisemitic in that part of the world. They scored lower on the ADL Global 100 than Greece!
Islam is slightly remixed Judaism. It’s annoying when Christians do this, and it’s annoying if Jews do this, too. Islamic civilisation was better and more progressive than the ones in Europe for a long time, even.
I really hope you stick to this line in the future, I guess. If you’re right, everything will be fine. If I’m right and you stay true to it, we’ll be on the same side shortly.