Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has requested a private meeting with President Lula da Silva from Itamaraty, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during the G7 meeting that began this Friday in Hiroshima, Japan. Lula, one of the guests of the group of seven richest countries in the world, is already in the Japanese city, and Zelensky is due to arrive this Saturday.
Until Friday evening, Itamaraty did not officially confirm either the meeting between the Ukrainian and the Brazilian, or even the request. But unofficially, diplomatic sources in Brazil confirmed the request of the President of Ukraine, but clarified that Lula had not yet commented on the meeting.
Lula caused controversy and outrage in April, during a trip to China and the UAE, when he said that Ukraine, which was invaded by Russian troops on February 24 last year, was no less to blame for the war it was waging on its territory than Russia, which invaded. Days later in Portugal, and after a flurry of criticism from Western allies, the Brazilian tried to soften his statements and criticized Russia’s territorial violation of Ukraine without directly condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Lula persistently tried to present himself as the great author of a peace plan that would end the bloody war between the Russians and Ukrainians, which also involved the European Union and the United States, Ukraine’s allies, but this initiative did not work out very well for him. . . . Ukraine rejected the peace plan proposed by the Brazilian, which provided for the transfer of part of the Ukrainian territory to Russia in exchange for peace, the Russians limited themselves to saying that they were studying the issue, and China, to which the Brazilian asked for support, to become the main negotiator of the conflict, instead of supporting him, sent a Chinese negotiator to Kiev and Moscow.
Lula has also turned down Zelenskiy’s invitation to visit Ukraine several times, arguing that, as the president of a “neutral” country in the conflict, he prefers not to get close to either side until a peace deal is reached. But Zelensky should insist on inviting the Brazilian to visit Kyiv if the meeting between them takes place, and the G7 itself should ask Lulu to take a more favorable stance towards Ukraine.