Lula says he didn’t meet Zelensky because he was late

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) took stock of his trip to Hiroshima, Japan, where he was to participate in the G7 Summit. In a statement to journalists made this Sunday night (21), Lula said that he did not meet with the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, because he was late.

“I had a bilateral interview scheduled with Ukraine at 3:15 pm. We waited and received information that they had been delayed. In the meantime, I attended to the president of Vietnam. Ukraine did not show up, it had another commitment. It was simply that,” stated Lula .

The invitation for a meeting with the Ukrainian came after Lula had spoken about the war with Russia. In April, the Brazilian president stated that Ukraine was also responsible for the conflict, and that the US and Europe were “contributing” to the continuation of the conflict. Afterwards, he lowered his tone, saying “condemn the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity”.

This Sunday (21), the president also said that he “was upset” with the fact that the meeting did not take place. “Zelensky is of legal age, he knows what he does”, he added.

Earlier, the Ukrainian president confirmed the scheduling conflicts with Lula, but mocked the fact that both did not meet. “I met all the leaders. Almost all. Everyone has their own agendas. I think that’s why we couldn’t meet the president of Brazil,” he said.

On Saturday (20), Zelensky met with the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, who is considered closer to Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, than Lula.

Criticism of the UN Security Council and Biden

The Brazilian also said that the UN Security Council (United Nations) was not strong enough to prevent the war from happening. “The UN no longer has the authority to maintain peace in the world because it is the members of the Security Council who make wars,” he criticized.

The petista defends the entry of more countries in the Council, including Brazil. Today, the organization is made up of 15 countries. Five are permanent and have veto power: China, France, Russia, UK and US.

Lula stated that he is willing to meet Zelensky and Putin when both are willing to discuss peace.

“Peace is only possible if both want it. I have no problem traveling to Ukraine and Russia. But for now, from what I hear from my representative [o assessor especial da Presidência da República para assuntos internacionais, Celso Amorim]it’s not possible right now,” he said.

Still on the war in Ukraine, the president criticized US President Joe Biden, saying that his talk about the war “does not help”. During the G7 meeting, the American said that sanctions against Russia “ensured that we kept pressure on Vladimir Putin to hold his supporters accountable”.