Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed on Friday during a telephone conversation with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that Russia is open to dialogue on Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Friday, Reuters reported.

Earlier, Lula wrote on Twitter that he confirmed Brazil’s willingness to talk to both sides of the war in Ukraine.

“We reaffirmed Brazil’s desire, along with India, Indonesia and China, to talk to both sides of the conflict in search of peace,” Lula said.

Lula presented himself as a peace broker to end the war that began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

His proposal, based on Brazil’s tradition of non-intervention and neutrality, calls for a group of non-belligerent states to bring Russia and Ukraine into negotiations.

The president of Brazil said on Monday that the meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyi on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Japan broke down due to Zelenskyi’s tardiness.

Zelensky previously downplayed the fact that he had not met Lula.

“I think he was disappointed,” Zelensky said, referring to Lula, after an attempt at a meeting between the two failed, according to Brazilian publication G1.

We will remind that the President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the other day that he discussed joint mediation in the war between Russia and Ukraine with China and the United Arab Emirates. Earlier, he accused the US of prolonging the conflict. Last Sunday, Lula da Silva also added Europe to the list of those who “encourage hostilities.”

“Europe and the USA continue to contribute to the continuation of the war. In conditions in which they have to sit at the table and say: ‘Enough,'” said the president of Brazil.

The White House has criticized Brazil’s president, accusing him of promoting Russian and Chinese propaganda about a war started by Vladimir Putin.

The president of Brazil previously said that Ukraine must give up Crimea in order to reach a peace agreement with Russia, a proposal that Kyiv rejected.

Earlier on Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Minister Sergey Lavrov and China’s special representative Li Hui discussed the prospects for resolving the conflict in Ukraine on Friday in Moscow, Reuters reports.

Lee was on a tour of European capitals, including Kyiv.

During a meeting with representatives of the European Union in Brussels on Thursday, Li said that China has always maintained an objective and fair position on the Ukrainian issue and has actively promoted peace talks.

Lula declined Putin’s invitation to Russia

Lula tweeted that he also thanked Putin for the invitation to attend the economic forum in St. Petersburg, but had to decline because he “cannot visit Russia now.”

We will remind, on March 17, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Vladimir Putin, who is accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of a war crime in the illegal deportation of at least 100 children from Ukraine.