Lula does not meet Zelenskiy at G7, but condemns “violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity”

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday condemned what he called a “violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine” in a speech at a meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) in Hiroshima, Japan, despite a bilateral meeting between him and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy did not occur.

Zelenskiy downplayed the fact that he did not meet Lula backstage at the G7 this Sunday and said it was probably a matter of agenda. Asked if he was disappointed, he told reporters that he thought it was a disappointment for the Brazilian leader.

“I think that let him down,” he said, smiling and eliciting laughter from reporters.

Speaking at a meeting on “Towards a peaceful, stable and prosperous world”, which was attended by the leaders of the world’s largest democracies and was attended by Zelensky, Lula said that the risk of a nuclear conflict is at its highest level since since the Cold War and that the multilateral conflict prevention and resolution mechanisms no longer work.

“In line with the UN Charter, we strongly reject the use of force as a means of settling disputes. We condemn the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.” he said.

“At the same time, every day that fighting continues, human suffering, loss of life and destruction of homes increase,” he added, defending the opening of space for negotiations and dialogue.

In his speech, Lula once again defended a reform of the UN Security Council, which for him is more paralyzed than ever, with permanent members who maintain “a long tradition of wars not authorized by the body”.

“Reminiscent of the Cold War would be foolish. Dividing the world into East and West or North and South would be as anachronistic as it is harmless. We need to break with the logic that excludes alliances and false conflicts between civilizations,” he said.

In Japan, Zelenskiy met with a number of world leaders on the sidelines of the G7 summit, in a trip seen as part of an effort to woo the “Global South”, a group of low- and middle-income countries, as Kiev defends itself from an invasion on a large scale of Russia.

On Saturday, amid rumors that Lula might not meet Zelenskiy, a French presidential source went so far as to say that the Brazilian president had pledged to meet with the Ukrainian leader.

Contacted, the Planalto Palace informed that a meeting between Lula and Zelenskiy had not entered the official agenda of the president.

(Bernardo Caram and Dan Peleschuk)

Source: Terra

Rose

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