Celso Amorim at an event in Rio de Janeiro, held in March| Photo: Tomaz Silva/Agência Brasil

Celso Amorim, special adviser to the Presidency of the Republic for international affairs, stated that “there is a tendency” for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) to meet with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, during the G7 summit. “I’m giving an opinion”, he stressed, in an interview with the newspaper O Globo.

The G7 meeting takes place in Hiroshima, Japan, and ends this Sunday (21). The invitation for a meeting between the two presidents came from the Ukrainian diplomacy, but Lula has not yet confirmed his presence.

According to Amorim, who is in Brazil, a possible meeting will not cause uneasiness with Russia. “If Putin asked, [Lula] would also receive it. The Russians are very clear about Brazil being an interlocutor. Our position is to seek peace. We are not going to stop having dialogue with Russia at all. They will understand,” she said in the interview.

The invitation to the meeting comes after Lula made controversial statements about the war in Ukraine. 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 war. After receiving criticism, Lula adopted a milder tone, saying “condemn the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity”.

According to g1, Itamaraty considers that there is pressure on Brazil for the country to adopt a more aligned position with Ukraine. The perception is that the same is being done with India. Zelensky has already met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.