Putin taps Brazil in China-linked peace push as Trump hosts Zelensky

As US President Donald Trump prepared for the arrival of his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia’s Vladimir Putin turned to another partner to discuss a possible path out of the war: Brazil.

The South American country’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke by phone with Putin on Monday, the Planalto Palace said, as Moscow pressed its case for new diplomatic efforts over the conflict.

According to the official readout, Putin used the 40-minute call to brief Lula on his meeting in Alaska with Trump, which he described as “positive”. He also “praised Brazil’s role in the Group of Friends for Peace”, a joint initiative with China launched at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

The Kremlin also released a press statement, adding that “the presidents reaffirmed mutual interest in maintaining Russia-Brazil dialogue and closely cooperating within Brics”.

The Brazil-China proposal centres on direct dialogue between Moscow and Kyiv and an eventual international peace conference. Its framework stands in contrast to the Ukrainian president’s 10-point “peace formula”, first laid out in late 2022, which demands Russia’s full withdrawal from occupied territory and the restoration of Ukraine’s borders.

But Ukraine rejected the proposal last September, accusing Beijing and Brasilia of serving Moscow’s interests. Zelensky criticised the plan in his address to the General Assembly, warning it would give Putin room to prolong the war.

“If someone in the world seeks alternatives to any of these points or tries to ignore any of them, it likely means they themselves want to do a part of what Putin is doing,” he said.

South China Morning Post