West did not give diplomacy a chance in Ukraine: Brazil’s Lula

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said that neither Ukraine nor Russia can achieve every goal they've set in their conflict

Brasilia: Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said that neither Ukraine nor Russia can achieve every goal they’ve set in their conflict, but need a mediator to facilitate peace talks, while faulting the EU and the US were too quick to back Kiev instead of trying for a de-escalation, media reports said.

“It is not necessary to have a war,” Lula said at a media breakfast at his official residence, Palacio do Planalto on Thursday, RT reported.

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“We think that the developed world, especially the EU and the US, had the option not to enter the war the way they did, so fast, without spending time trying to negotiate,” he contended. “Negotiating peace is very complicated.”

The Brazilian leader, who is set to travel next week to China, a nation with a similar position on Ukraine to his own, says he hopes his contacts with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will help bring about a conversation “that we should have had a year ago”.

India and Indonesia may have a role, too, he added.

Explaining his view on how the hostilities could end, he suggested that the status of Crimea should be excluded from the discussion, but stressed that Russia “cannot keep the land in Ukraine”.

He also said that Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky “can’t want everything either”. Kiev has declared a military victory over Russia and a return of all lands, including Crimea, as preconditions for entering peace talks.