Brazil’s Lula pledges to urge Putin ‘go to Istanbul and negotiate’ with Zelenskyy

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attends a press conference in Beijing, China, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (Tingshu Wang/Pool Photo via AP)

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Wednesday he would try to urge Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend possible peace talks this week with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, amid suspense over whether Putin would take part in the proposed meeting in Türkiye.

Putin proposed restarting direct talks “without preconditions” on Thursday in Istanbul about the more than three-year war. Zelenskyy then challenged the Kremlin leader to meet in Türkiye in person.

Lula has maintained close ties with Putin despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine -- a position that has caused tensions with the Kyiv government and raised eyebrows in the West.

Lula on Wednesday stopped over in Moscow on his return from a state visit in China, where he told journalists: “When I get to Moscow, I’m going to try to talk to Putin. It won’t cost me anything to say, `Hey, comrade Putin, go to Istanbul and negotiate.”

They did not meet, but the Kremlin said he and Putin spoke by phone. The Kremlin said Lula referenced the peace talks and “intends to do everything in his power to ensure their success.” It said Putin expressed gratitude for efforts to find ways to resolve the conflict.

The Kremlin did not mention any discussions of Putin’s possible travel to Istanbul.

The Kremlin has declined to say who is going to Türkiye. Ukraine’s presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said Zelenskyy will sit at the table only with the Russian leader.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is among U.S. officials due to be in Türkiye for the talks.

In May 2024, China and Brazil issued a joint peace plan that called for a peace conference with Russia and Ukraine and no expansion of the battlefield, but Zelenskyy dismissed it.

On Tuesday, Brazil and China released a joint statement hoping that “a direct dialogue between the parties can begin as soon as possible.”

The U.S. and Western European leaders have threatened Russia with further sanctions if there is no progress in halting the fighting in Ukraine.

France’s foreign minister said he is working with U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a leading ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, on a potential new package of what he called “devastating” sanctions.

The measures would aim to “asphyxiate once and for all the Russian economy” and squeeze Russia “by the throat,” with possible 500% import tariffs on Russian oil and countries that buy it, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said. He told French broadcaster BFMTV he would see Graham on Thursday in Türkiye.

Sanctions already adopted by Ukraine’s allies have failed to stop Putin.

Russian forces have been readying a fresh military offensive to maximize pressure on Ukraine and strengthen the Kremlin’s negotiating position, Ukrainian government and military analysts say.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said Tuesday that Russia is “attempting to prolong negotiations to extract additional concessions from the United States and while making additional battlefield advances.”

Associated Press writers Eleonore Hughes in Rio de Janeiro and John Leicester in Paris contributed to this report.