Putin’s invitation to Lula to go to Russia, in June, was made during a Russian minister’s visit to Brazil.| Photo: Joedson Alves/EFE

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, invited the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), to participate in the next edition of the Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, in June, official sources informed this Monday (17).

Putin conveyed the invitation in a letter personally delivered to Lula by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who made an official visit to Brazil as part of a tour of Latin American countries.

The Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, told journalists that the invitation will be studied, but that at the moment it is not possible to say whether President Lula will be able to attend the event.

Lula, 77 years old, received Lavrov this Monday for a “courtesy visit”, after the Russian minister held an official meeting with the Brazilian chancellor.

According to Vieira, Lula and Lavrov “did not get into war issues”, in reference to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, but “into peace issues”, in the midst of the president’s efforts to find a “negotiated solution” to the conflict, which has been going on since February 24, 2022.

Brazil has maintained a position of neutrality since the beginning of the war and has rejected the imposition of sanctions imposed on the Russian government by Western countries.

“Brazil wants to promote peace and is ready to discuss with a group of countries or join a group of countries that are willing to talk about peace”, said Vieira.