The official request for a bilateral meeting between presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Volodymyr Zelensky on the margins of the UN General Assembly came from the Ukrainian side.
A CNN learned from the authorities of the European country that the request was formally made by the Ukrainian Embassy in Brasília two weeks ago.
But according to the Ukrainians, so far the Foreign Ministry has not offered any time for the meeting. A CNN also confirmed with Itamaraty that there has not yet been an agreement on a timetable.
Initially, the government leader in the Senate, Jaques Wagner, had stated that the invitation had come from Lula.
“President Volodymyr Zelensky is extremely interested in meeting President Lula in New York. We continue to look forward to concrete timetable proposals,” a source told CNN .
According to two other Ukrainian sources, the two sides continue to work to make the meeting happen.
“Zelensky’s schedule is tight in New York, but we will be extremely flexible in organizing this historic meeting of the two presidents,” said one of them.
Lula and Zelensky never met in person for a bilateral meeting.
There were unsuccessful attempts to reconcile agendas during the G7 summit in Japan.
In an interview during the summit, Zelensky signaled that, in fact, there was an incompatibility of agendas, as the Brazilian government maintained.
When asked if he was disappointed that the meeting did not take place, Zelensky replied: “I think he was disappointed.”
The Ukrainians have said several times that they want to talk to Lula to show the Brazilian leader “the reality of the conflict”.
Kiev has also repeatedly demonstrated its dissatisfaction with the Brazilian president for his controversial statements about the war — including an assertion that the United States and European countries were prolonging the war by sending weapons to the Ukrainian resistance.
A CNN tries to contact Itamaraty and Senator Jaques Wagner.
VIDEO: Lula meets with businesspeople at dinner in New York and negotiates a meeting with Zelensky
Source: CNN Brasil
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