The UN chief announced on Friday that he will be traveling to Russia to meet with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and will also be received by President Vladimir Putin.

Secretary-General António Guterres informed correspondents in a note that on Tuesday, 26 April, he will have a working meeting and lunch with Mr. Lavrov in Moscow.

From today’s briefing: Secretary-General @antonioguterres will visit Moscow, where, on Tuesday, 26 April, he will have a working meeting and lunch with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and will be received by President Vladimir Putin.https://t.co/Sdkj8ljAht

— UN Spokesperson (@UN_Spokesperson) April 22, 2022

“He hopes to talk about what can be done to bring peace to Ukraine urgently,” said UN Associate Spokesperson Eri Kaneko.

In efforts to end the war in Ukraine, the UN chief wrote separate letters to the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, requesting to meet with each of them in their respective capitals, UN News reported last Wednesday.

He is currently working with the Government of Ukraine on scheduling a meeting in Kyiv with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.  

The announcement comes before the UN’s next appeal for Ukraine, which is being scheduled for next week.