Zelensky to Lula’s top foreign policy adviser: Ukrainian formula is only way to peace

Lula's ambassador and special advisor, Celso Amorim. Photo: Tomaz Silva/Agência Brasil

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that he told Brazil’s special foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim that “the only plan capable of stopping Russian aggression in Ukraine is the Ukrainian Peace Formula.”

Mr. Amorim met with Mr. Zelensky in Kyiv yesterday, following a visit to Moscow in late March. The trip to Russia was only revealed to the press after the fact. Conversely, Mr. Amorim’s visit to Ukraine was publicly announced in advance.

According to the Brazilian president’s office, the purpose of Mr. Amorim’s visit was to listen to the Ukrainian government’s demands in order to start peace negotiations.

Mr. Zelensky first introduced his 10-point “peace formula” at a G20 summit in late 2022. It calls for the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the withdrawal of Russian troops.

The Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva government has claimed neutrality in the war, sometimes condemning Russia but more often echoing Russian talking points. During a recent visit to Brasília, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov thanked Brazil for what he called its “contribution” to resolving the war in Ukraine.

Lula has contradicted himself on the war several times. In a speech to the Portuguese parliament, Lula condemned the “violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” without naming Russia. On another occasion, he said that “the two countries” decided to go to war. Later, during a trip to Spain, Lula said that it was “not up to him” to decide to whom Crimea and the Donbass region belonged, and that the matter should be “discussed by Russians and Ukrainians.”

Lula has on several occasions advocated a so-called “peace club” proposal for a group of countries to negotiate an end to the war, but has never specified the grounds for such negotiations.

Mr. Zelensky’s comments on Twitter echo a statement made last week by the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield. During a visit to Brasília, she said that peace negotiations could not be based on “rewarding Russia” for seizing Ukrainian territory.