Key points
- Talks scheduled for Thursday in Istanbul will be first direct talks between Russia, Ukraine
- Kremlin has not yet specified whether Putin will attend in person
- Lula will stop over in Moscow
ISLAMABAD: Brazil’s president has said that he would press Vladimir Putin in person to attend negotiations with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey, adding to calls on the Russian leader to enter talks and end Moscow’s invasion.
AFP reported that Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will stop over in Moscow on the way back to Brazil after the conclusion of a regional forum in China.
“I’ll try to talk to Putin,” Lula said at a press conference in Beijing ahead of his departure.
“It costs me nothing to say, ‘hey, comrade Putin, go to Istanbul and negotiate, dammit'”, he said.
“Direct talks”
The negotiations scheduled for Thursday in Istanbul would be the first direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow since 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour.
Earlier, the UK-based newspaper The Independent reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will be waiting for Vladimir Putin in Turkey on Thursday
Lula’s remarks come after the Ukrainian foreign minister on Tuesday urged Brazil to use its influence with Russia and make a meeting between Putin and Zelensky happen, AFP reported.
The Kremlin has not yet specified whether Putin will attend in person, stating only that the “Russian delegation will be present”.
