Ukrainian officials have told special representatives from China and Brazil that Kiev cannot be persuaded to negotiate with Russia until Russian troops leave the country. This information was disclosed by the head of the cabinet of the presidential of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak.
“That’s exactly what I explained to envoys from China and Brazil, that there is no such force that today obliges Ukrainian society and leadership to talk to Russians – as long as we have Russian troops (on Ukrainian territory). It doesn’t exist,” he said. him in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
He highlighted that there was “a very frank conversation” with representatives of the leaders of Brazil and China and that Ukraine is “very grateful for the desire to participate, for the reaction”, but reinforced that Kiev has its own peace plan.
“I honestly told both of them that Ukraine is very grateful for the desire to participate, for the reaction. But Ukraine has its own peace plan, and what we consider fair – given that the war is going on on our territory – that the plan Ukrainian government must be the basis for the agreement. President Volodymyr Zelensky has clearly indicated that Ukraine is ready to listen and listen to them, so for that, we invite them to participate in the Peace Summit,” said Yermak.
The Ukrainian president’s chief of staff also said he opposes attempts by third countries to act as mediators in relations between Ukraine and Russia. “Our second position, which we conveyed to the representatives of China and Brazil: we are against mediation,” he stressed.
“We didn’t start this war. We don’t need Russian lands. We’re fighting for ours. But we won’t have territorial commitments. It was very important to say that to the special representatives. On everything else, let’s talk,” added Yermak.
Disagreement between Lula and Zelensky
During the G7 summit, in Japan, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared that he was unable to meet with his colleague Volodymyr Zelensky, because the Ukrainian president would not have appeared at the time when the Brazilian delegation stipulated the bilateral agenda.
“We had a bilateral interview with Ukraine at 3 pm. We had information that they were delayed, meanwhile, I met the president of Vietnam. When the president of Vietnam left, Ukraine did not show up. Of course, there was another appointment and he couldn’t come here. That’s just what happened,” informed Lula.
The Brazilian president said he was “sad and disappointed” with Zelensky’s non-attendance. “I would like to meet with him and discuss the matter. Zelensky is of legal age, he knows what he does”, he concluded.
When commenting on the disagreement between Lula and Zelensky, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff stated that the meeting did not take place due to the “tight schedule”.
“The schedule was very tight and, therefore, the time simply did not coincide. Therefore, in principle, the presidents, in general, could only see each other physically in the second session”, he argued.
“We are very interested that Brazil also participates in the Peace Summit, in the implementation of the peace plan. We will continue these contacts. We developed, I believe, a very good contact with his envoy, who came to Ukraine (Celso Amorim ). We agreed to continue. We are waiting for Lula in Ukraine, we sent an invitation. And I am sure that, given the appropriate situation, Volodymyr Zelensky would visit Brazil”, highlighted Ermak.
Editing: Thalita Pires
