Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Monday he was “upset” at not meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he also perceived as disinterested in peace talks with Russia.
Zelensky, who emerged from the G-7 summit in Hiroshima with renewed diplomatic support and a promise of more military aid, had sought a one-on-one meeting with Lula, who has been accused of going soft on Russia over its invasion. Was.
Both the leaders said that scheduling problems prevented them from meeting. Zelensky said sarcastically that this could “frustrate” Lula.
“I was not disappointed,” Lula replied at a press conference. “I was upset because I wanted to meet him and discuss the issue…so I called a meeting,” he said. “Zelensky is of legal age, he knows what he is doing,” he said.
Lula said his team had scheduled a meeting with Zelensky for Sunday afternoon. However, the Ukrainian leader was late, saying that his program was completed later.
Zelensky secured considerable support from G7 leaders at the summit, including long-awaited support from the United States for access to F-16 fighter jets.
It also attracted invited non-G7 countries, such as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who vowed to do “whatever we can” to resolve the conflict.
Modi told Zelensky, “I feel your pain.
On the other hand, there were no similar signs of support from Brazil.
Lula said he did not understand the point of the meeting with Zelensky at the moment because neither Ukrainian President nor Russian President Vladimir Putin had given any indication of wanting peace.
“For now, both are confident that they are going to win the war,” he said.
Lula is leading the way for peace talks, and has proposed Brazil as a mediator between China and other “neutral” countries, including Indonesia.
However, Brazil’s leader drew criticism last month when he accused the United States of “encouraging” the war.
After being accused by the White House of “parroting Chinese and Russian propaganda”, Lula lowered his tone, saying that Brazil condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In any case, he was again critical on Monday, saying US President Joe Biden is sending a message that “Putin must surrender and pay for everything he has destroyed.”
“That message is not helping,” he said.
