Security Council expresses support to Guterres after Israel declares him persona non grata

The Security Council of the United Nations declared its full support to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres after Israel declared him persona non grata, Report informs via TASS.

"The members of the Security Council affirmed their full support for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, his important role and that of the wider UN," the UN Security Council said in a statement, circulated among journalists. "They underscored the need for all member states to have a productive and effective relationship with the Secretary-General and to refrain from any actions that undermine his work and that of his office."

The statement also says that "any decision not to engage with the UN Secretary-General or the United Nations is counterproductive, especially in the context of escalating tensions in the Middle East."

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on October 2 barred UN Secretary-General Antony Guterres from entering the Jewish state and declared him persona non grata for his lack of condemnation of Iran's attack on Israel.