Guterres refrains from describing the events in Ukraine as a "genocide"
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern about human rights violations in Ukraine, but declined to describe the events there as a "genocide".
"The concept of genocide is precisely defined in international law, and we rely on the final legal definition by relevant institutions," Guterres said during a press conference on Tuesday.
"We are deeply concerned about human rights violations, and the consequences of the conflict in this regard. We leave the determination of whether this is genocide or not to the relevant legal institutions," he added.
He noted that the International Criminal Court is now conducting an investigation on Ukrainian territory.
US President Joe Biden has accused Russia of committing a "genocide" of Ukrainians during the ongoing military operation there.
Moscow rejected Biden's comments, describing them as "unacceptable" and a "distortion of facts".
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