Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accepted an offer from Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to help work towards a peace deal in the ongoing war with Russia, according to a Ukrainian presidential adviser. The agreement was reached during a meeting between Zelenskiy and Lula on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France.
Presidential communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn told reporters that Zelenskiy and Lula discussed ways to reactivate diplomacy, with Lula proposing several ideas, including engaging with the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. The two leaders agreed to pursue these ideas and discuss the results later.
The permanent members of the UN Security Council, besides the United States, France, and Britain, include Russia and China. Previous U.S.-backed mediation efforts stalled due to Russia's demands for territorial concessions from Ukraine, which Kyiv rejects. Zelenskiy had previously asked U.S. President Donald Trump to mediate a face-to-face meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, a proposal Putin has currently ruled out.
Lula mentioned that Zelenskiy had previously shown no interest in his diplomatic peace efforts but has now accepted them. The Brazilian president also stated that he has already spoken with all five permanent members of the Security Council and intends to do so again.