Brazilian President to urge Putin to hold talks with Zelenskyy during visit to Moscow

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, photo: Eraldo Peres/AP Photo/picture alliance

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has announced his intention to personally address Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to take part in talks with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The meeting may take place in Istanbul, where talks are scheduled for 15 May.

On her way back from China after participating in a regional forum, Lula plans to stop in Moscow, the Kyiv Post and Hurriyet Daily News report.

During a press conference in Beijing, he stressed that he intends to call on Putin to join the negotiation process in Turkey, speaking emotionally about the need for dialogue.

These initiatives by Lula followed the Ukrainian Foreign Minister's call for Brazil to facilitate a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy using its influence on Russia.

In addition, on 13 May, Brazil and China issued a statement in which they stressed the importance of direct negotiations as the only way to end the war.

It should be noted that the Kremlin is still not ready to name the composition of the Russian delegation to the talks in Istanbul with Ukraine. The Russian leader's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said during today's briefing that Vladimir Putin had not given instructions to announce the composition of the delegation.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that he was looking forward to direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkey.