Brazilian president pledges to push Putin towards talks in Istanbul
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has stated he will personally demand that Russian leader Vladimir Putin take part in negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Türkiye.
Source: Kyiv Post, a Ukrainian English-language newspaper; Hurriyet Daily News, a Turkish English-language newspaper
Details: Media reports indicate that da Silva is expected to make a stop in Moscow on his way back to Brazil after attending a regional forum in China.
Quote from da Silva at a press conference in Beijing ahead of his departure: "I’ll try to talk to Putin. It costs me nothing to say: 'Hey, comrade Putin, go to Istanbul and negotiate, dammit'."
More details: Talks scheduled for 15 May in Istanbul may become the first direct negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow since 2022.
Da Silva's remarks followed a 13 May statement by Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urging Brazil to use its influence over Russia to help ensure a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy takes place.
They also came after Brazil and China issued a joint declaration on 13 May calling for direct negotiations as the "only way to end the conflict".
Background:
- On 11 June 2024, Putin held a phone call with the Brazilian president. Both sides stated that they discussed the Peace Summit scheduled for 15-16 June in Switzerland and Brazil's intention to "contribute" to resolving the war in Ukraine.
- Brazil was among the countries that did not sign the final communiqué of the Global Peace Summit held in Switzerland on 15-16 June 2024.
- Later, China and Brazil jointly released a "six-point consensus" aimed at promoting a "political resolution to the Ukrainian crisis". China’s Foreign Ministry claimed the plan had "received a positive response from over 110 countries around the world".
Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!