Brazil's Lula to meet Ukraine's Zelenskiy in New York on Wednesday

Reuters
September 18, 20234:38 PM CDT Updated 4 hours ago

BRASILIA, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in New York on Wednesday while they are attending the United Nations General Assembly, the office of the Brazilian presidency said on Monday.

Lula has advocated the creation of a group of nations to mediate an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine, but in May he stated that both Moscow and Kyiv were to blame for the conflict, angering the United States and European states who back Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion.

Last month, the Brazilian leftist leader told reporters neither Zelenskiy nor Russian President Vladimir Putin were ready for peace.

Lula and Zelenskiy have never met, though they spoke by video call in March days after Brazil voted for a U.N. resolution that called for peace and demanded Moscow withdraw its troops. Ukraine's embassy in Brasilia confirmed Wednesday's meeting.

The two men will meet at Lula's hotel after the Brazilian leader meets U.S. President Joe Biden, two sources in the Brazilian government said on condition of anonymity.

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