With war in Ukraine on the agenda, Putin invites Lula to visit Russia

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, took advantage of the meeting he had last week with Celso Amorim, Special Secretary for International Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic, to formalize an invitation to the Brazilian government. Dealing with the war in Ukraine, Putin proposed a visit by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) to Moscow. A date for the trip has yet to be announced.

Initially, the meeting between the Russian leader and the former Brazilian chancellor was kept confidential. This Tuesday (4), however, the spokesman of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, declared to the press that “the meeting, in fact, happened”. Still according to Peskov, “the meeting reaffirmed the invitation already extended to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to make an official visit to Russia”.

With negotiations on the war in Ukraine stalled in the face of NATO and US interference in the region, Brazil emerges as a possible mediator of a peace agreement. “There is no magic solution,” Amorim told the newspaper The globe. According to Lula’s adviser, the Russians “are convinced that it is difficult to reach a negotiation situation. But they said they appreciated Brazil’s actions.”

Putin said on Wednesday that Russia does not intend to isolate itself. At an event for receiving the credentials of new foreign ambassadors in Moscow, the president highlighted what he calls the country’s “new concept of foreign policy”. “Russia is open to constructive partnership with all countries without exception – and we will not isolate ourselves from anyone, we have no biased or hostile intentions,” Putin said.