Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva decided not to participate in the Global Peace Summit on Ukraine, which will be held on June 15-16 in Switzerland.
This is reported by CNN Brazil, citing its own sources.
As noted in the publication, the Swiss government invited Lula da Silva during a personal meeting between Swiss Chancellor Ignacio Cassis and Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira on April 30.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, also invited the President of Brazil to participate in the summit, the publication adds.
Zelenskyy, in particular, tried to reach the presidents of Latin America, Africa, and Asia. However, the main support for Ukraine continues to come from the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and other major countries.
A source close to Minister Mauro Vieira said that Chancellor Cassis insisted very much on the presence of the Brazilian president at the meeting, recognizing the importance not only of Brazil, but also of its influence among developing countries.
According to Lula and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, it makes no sense for the president to participate in the summit, because the event “does not involve the participation of the two sides of the conflict”.
Brazilian diplomatic sources say, Lula and Vieira met this week and decided that the delegation representing the country at the summit would not be led by the president. But it is still not determined who will take this role.
On May 15, Switzerland announced that more than 50 countries had already confirmed their presence at the summit. But it was not specified how many heads of state should be present.
