Brazilian President fails to meet Putin in Moscow despite promise to push for Ukraine talks

What happened earlier

Prior to his visit, Lula had stated that he would try to convince Putin to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul.

"It costs me nothing to say to him: 'Hey, comrade Putin, go to Istanbul and negotiate, for God's sake,'" he said.

He was scheduled to make a stop in Moscow today on his way back to Brazil from China.

Arrival in Moscow

Earlier today, several Russian media outlets reported that around 5:30 p.m. Kyiv time, a Brazilian diplomatic convoy left Moscow’s Vnukovo-2 airport.

By 6:45 p.m., Russian outlets confirmed that Lula had already left Moscow. His visit to the Russian capital lasted approximately two hours.

Meeting with Putin

Russian media report that during his brief stop in Moscow on the way back from Beijing, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva did not meet with Vladimir Putin. At the same time, it was noted that the Russian leader held several meetings with other foreign representatives today.

Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged Brazil to "use its authoritative voice" and influence Putin to hold direct talks with President Zelenskyy in Türkiye.

Peace talks in Istanbul

After the end of the three-day truce declared by Vladimir Putin from May 8 to 11, Ukraine, along with the countries of the Coalition of the Willing, demanded that Russia impose a full 30-day ceasefire starting May 12. In case of refusal, the EU warned of new sanctions against Moscow.

In response, Putin said that Russia would not accept ultimatums and offered to resume peace talks on May 15 in Istanbul, to which Türkiye agreed to mediate.

So far, Putin has not said whether he will travel to Türkiye, but Ukraine and Europe are skeptical about this possibility. US President Donald Trump said that he may also arrive in Türkiye.