DUBAI, April 16. /TASS/. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Sunday he had discussed with the Chinese and UAE leaders, Xi Jinping and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, mediatory efforts to settle the conflict in Ukraine.

At the news conference in Abu Dhabi after his visits to China and the United Arab Emirates, he said that he had suggested a group of countries be set up to carry out a mediatory mission between Moscow and Kiev. "The Group of Twenty was established to save the [global] economy, which was in a crisis. Today, it is important to establish a format like G20 to put an end to this war and establish peace. This is my intention and I think we will be successful," France Presse quoted him as saying.

The Brazilian leader noted that neither the Russian nor the Ukrainian president are taking any steps to stop the conflict while Europe and the United States are seeking to prolong it. "All of them must sit down at the negotiating table and say: enough," he added.

Lula da Silva said earlier that Russia was a guarantor of lasting peace in the world. He has already advanced an initiative to elaborate a new international format to create an environment for possible dialogue between Moscow and Kiev and has offered his mediatory services during direct talks between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.