Brazil’s Lula ‘upset’ at not meeting with Ukraine’s Zelensky at G7 in Japan
- Ukraine and Brazil presidents failed to hold one-on-one talks at the G7 summit in Japan
- As opposed to G7 countries, Brazil has taken a more neutral stance on the war in Ukraine
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Monday he was “upset” he and Volodymyr Zelensky did not meet at the G7 summit, adding his Ukrainian counterpart seemed uninterested in negotiating peace with Russia.
Zelensky, who emerged from the summit in Hiroshima with fresh diplomatic support and pledges of more military aid, had sought a one-on-one meeting with Lula, who has faced accusations of being soft on Russia over its invasion.
Both leaders said scheduling conflicts had prevented them from meeting – which Zelensky quipped had likely left his Brazilian counterpart “disappointed”.
“I met almost everyone, all the leaders. All of them have their own schedules, that is why we couldn’t meet with the Brazilian president,” the Ukrainian president told reporters on Sunday.
Lula told a news conference before heading home from Japan: “I wasn’t disappointed. I was upset, because I’d like to meet him and discuss the matter”.
But “Zelensky is a grown-up. He knows what he’s doing,” he added.