The South American leader said he had already relayed a message from Kiev to his Russian counterpart during the Victory Day celebrations

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said he will urge his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to personally attend peace talks with Ukraine, which are expected to take place in Istanbul, Türkiye, on Thursday.

The talks were originally proposed last week by Putin, who offered to resume direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev without any preconditions to reach a lasting settlement to the Ukraine conflict.

Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky has expressed readiness to engage in direct dialogue, but has insisted that this must be preceded by an unconditional 30-day ceasefire - a demand Moscow has repeatedly rejected. Zelensky has also said he would only come to the meeting in Istanbul if Putin attends in person.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday, Lula said that "when I get to Moscow, I'm going to try to talk with Putin. It doesn't cost me anything to say: 'Hey, comrade Putin, go to Istanbul to negotiate, damn it'."

The Brazilian president was expected to stop over in the Russian capital on his way back from China, and according to Russian media, has already touched down in Moscow.

Addressing the press in Beijing several hours prior to his flight, Lula revealed that his foreign minister, Mauro Vieira, had earlier received a phone call from a senior Ukrainian official, asking whether the Brazilian president could "talk with Putin about Türkiye."

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has refused to confirm to journalists whether or not the Russian and Brazilian presidents would be meeting. "If contacts are agreed upon in any form, we will inform you immediately," the official stated.

According to Lula, he has already honored a request by Kiev to bring up the issue of a 30-day truce with Putin during the Victory Day celebrations that he attended in Moscow on May 9. The Brazilian leader recounted that the Russian president replied that he was "willing to discuss [peace]."

Last week, CNN Brasil quoted Lula as saying that during a meeting with Putin ahead of the Victory Day celebrations he had offered to act as a mediator between Moscow and Kiev.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga confirmed that he had spoken with his Brazilian colleague, Vieira, calling on the Latin American country to "use its authoritative voice in its dialogue with Russia" to help ensure that a meeting between Zelensky and Putin in Istanbul does take place.

(RT.com)