Brazil's Lula: Zelensky Kept Me Hanging, Not Interested in Peace Negotiation
Lula says President Joe Biden is sending the message that "Putin has to surrender and pay for everything he wrecked.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula, one of the few leaders talking about a peaceful settlement for Ukraine, told reporters Monday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky never showed up to a bilateral meeting that was scheduled during the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
He said the meeting was scheduled for 3:15 p.m. and Zelensky never arrived.
Lula said Zelensky never showed up because “clearly he had appointments and he couldn’t come.”
“I wasn’t disappointed. I was upset, because I’d like to meet him and discuss the matter” but he said, “Zelensky is a grown-up. He knows what he’s doing.”
Lula said he was upset that the meeting did not occur and said it seems that Zelensky is uninterested in talking about peace, the AFP reported.
Lula has previously said Zelensky should have ignored Western officials and acknowledged Russia’s security concerns when it came to NATO expansion and that “We should be having a serious conversation. OK, you were a nice comedian. But let us not make war for you to show up on TV.”