Former Chancellor Celso Amorim, special adviser for international affairs to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), visited Kiev last Wednesday (10) and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
After the meeting, Amorim told the Folha de S.Paulo that the “dialogue was positive, confidence-building, and aimed at explaining our goals for peace.”
He added that there is no immediate solution for peace. “Reaching an agreement will not be easy. Both sides will have to understand that the cost of war will be greater than the cost of individual concessions,” Amorim pointed out.
The Brazilian diplomat’s visit to Kiev takes place after the Lula government’s foreign policy has received criticism for having moved away from the position of neutrality in the war in Ukraine. In April, Amorim met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin Palace. And, on April 17, the Russian Foreign Minister, Serguei Lavrov, visited Brazil and met with President Lula. At the time, this was seen by the US and Ukraine as a gesture of approximation between Brazil and Russia.
Read too: By criticizing the US, does Lula move Brazil away from the position of neutrality in the Ukraine war?
President Lula and the Itamaraty, however, while condemning Russian intervention in Ukraine, repeatedly manifested a position of neutrality in the war in favor of promoting peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev.
This Thursday (11), the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, confirmed through his Twitter account that he had met with Amorim and highlighted that he hopes to continue the dialogue with President Lula and receive him in Ukraine.
Met with Special Advisor on Foreign Policy to the President of Brazil Celso Amorim. Emphasized that the only plan capable of stopping Russian aggression in Ukraine is the Ukrainian Peace Formula. We discussed the possibility of holding the Ukraine-Latin America Summit. I look…
— Volodymyr Zelensky (@ZelenskyyUa) May 11, 2023
In the statement, Zelensky emphasized that “the only plan capable of stopping Russian aggression in Ukraine is the Ukrainian formula for peace”.
“I met with the special advisor for Foreign Affairs of the Presidency of Brazil, Celso Amorim. I emphasized that the only plan capable of stopping Russian aggression in Ukraine is the Ukrainian Formula for Peace. We discussed the possibility of holding a Ukraine-America summit I look forward to continuing the dialogue with President Lula and welcoming him to Ukraine”, declared Zelensky.
Celso Amorim was also received by the chief of staff of the president of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak. He stated that the “Brazilian delegation was informed in detail about the current situation at the front, the actions of the Russian occupiers, in particular the recent Russian missile attacks against civilian infrastructure and Ukrainian citizens”.
“We hope that Brazil and President Lula will take a balanced position regarding Russian armed aggression against Ukraine,” said Yermak.
The Ukrainian vice-chancellor, Andrij Melnyk, had published the day before that Brazil could play an important role in interrupting Russian aggression. This Thursday (11) he published: “Gradually we are changing the climate between Ukraine and Brazil”. This Thursday, Melnyk was announced as the new ambassador of Ukraine to Brazil.
“The Brazilian government is pleased to inform that it has granted approval [consentimento] to Andrii Melnyk as the extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador of Ukraine in Brazil”, informs the Itamaraty.
Editing: Nicolau Soares
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
