Putin tells Lula Russia ready to take part in peace talks with Kiev

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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva confirmed to President Vladimir Putin that his country is ready to explore possible peace routes between Moscow and Kiev.

According to the Kremlin, the two presidents discussed "the Russian-Brazilian strategic partnership" via a phone call where they expressed common interest in developing that relationship.

"I just spoke by phone with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. I thanked him for an invitation to attend the International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg, and replied that I could not go to Russia at the moment, but reiterated Brazil's willingness, along with India, Indonesia, and China, to talk to both sides of the conflict in pursuit of peace," the Brazilian president tweeted on Friday.
 
On his part, President Putin reiterated Russia's willingness to engage in talks that aim to bring forth a peaceful solution for the conflict in Ukraine during the phone call, the Kremlin stated on Friday.  

"The president of Russia gave a fundamental assessment of the development of the situation around Ukraine while confirming the openness of the Russian side to dialogue on the political and diplomatic track, which is still blocked by Kiev and its Western sponsors," the Kremlin underlined, pointing to the constructive and substantive nature of the call.

"In addition, issues related to joint work within the BRICS and other multilateral platforms were considered," the Kremlin said, as the parties also discussed Lula's experience at the G7 summit in Japan.

According to a source cited by the TASS agency, President "Lula shared his impressions from the recent G7 summit in Hiroshima. He said that he got the impression that other participants in the summit who are not G7 members were invited only to be turned against Russia. He said that it won’t work with Brazil," adding that, according to the Brazilian President, Indonesia, India, and Vietnam, whose presidents he met with in Hiroshima, have a similar position.

Putin was reassured by the Brazilian president that despite requests from Western countries, Brazil will not provide any weapons or ammunition to Ukraine since it recognizes that they would be used against Moscow. He also reaffirmed Brazil's readiness to collaborate with other parties with an interest in fostering peace and talks.

Earlier, Brazil's head of state said that the country is lining up to raise the Ukraine-Russia peace settlement at the summit of the Group of Seven (G7) in Japan's Hiroshima which took place on May 19.

"I am going to the G7 summit next week, and we will discuss the issue of the Amazon, energy, Ukraine," said Lula, as he added, "I believe in building a mechanism that can bring the peace back."

However, the Brazilian President was reportedly disgruntled after he was denied a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who alleged that he was unable to meet with Lula due to for scheduling reasons.

Back in February, Lula da Silva said Russia must be provided with "minimum conditions" in order for the conflict in Ukraine to be settled.

As countries around the world push for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine — with contributions made by African leaders, Indonesia, China, and Brazil — the West headed by the United States continues to extend the period of the conflict by arming the Ukrainian army with high-tech equipment and providing billions of dollars worth of military aid to the country, reducing the possibility of a solution to the crisis.