Putin Congratulates Guterres with Appointment as New UN Secretary-General

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday congratulated former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres with election as the new UN secretary-general and wished him success in work at this important post, the Kremlin press service said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier on Thursday, the UN General Assembly approved Guterres, 67, as new UN chief for a five-year term beginning January 1, 2017.

The move follows last week’s vote in the UN Security Council to formally recommend Guterres, who headed the UN High Commissioner Office for Refugees (UNHCR) for over a decade, for consideration to succeed Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, whose second term in office expires on December 31.