Lula refuses to participate in peace summit without Russian participation

Lula decides not to attend the “Peace Summit” on Ukraine

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva chose not to participate in the Peace Summit on Ukraine, which will take place on June 15th and 16th in Switzerland.

The invitation for Lula to participate in the event was made personally by the Swiss Chancellor, Ignacio Cassis, during a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Mauro Vieira, on April 30. The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, had also invited Lula to the summit in an interview held in April.

Both the Swiss and Ukrainian governments are committed to ensuring the presence of key leaders from the Global South, which includes large developing nations. This group has expressed reservations about Western sanctions imposed on Russia due to the war.

Zelensky has sought to strengthen ties with presidents in Latin America, Africa and Asia, although the main support for Ukraine continues to come from the United States, European Union, United Kingdom and other wealthy nations. As one of the main leaders of the Global South, Lula was the target of intense diplomatic efforts by the Swiss.

A source close to minister Mauro Vieira revealed that the Swiss chancellor was very insistent on Lula’s presence at the summit, recognizing Brazil’s importance and influence among developing nations.

Among the invited countries are China, South Africa and several other nations. Russia, however, was excluded from the event.

Lula and Vieira met recently and decided that the Brazilian delegation at the summit will not be led by the president. It has not yet been defined who will represent Brazil.

In the view of Lula and Itamaraty, it makes no sense for the Brazilian president to participate in a summit that does not include both sides of the conflict. Brazilian diplomacy has always defended the need for peace negotiations, but sees no logic in a meeting that excludes the Russians.

Brazil has already voted several times in the UN General Assembly condemning the Russian invasion and defending the territorial integrity of Ukraine, although it has not supported sanctions against the Kremlin. Lula also made several controversial statements about the conflict, including one in which he claimed that the Kiev government also bore responsibility for the war, and another in which he suggested that Western support for the Ukrainians was prolonging the conflict.

Switzerland reported that more than 50 countries have already confirmed their presence at the summit, but did not disclose how many heads of state will be present.