BEIJING, May 13. /TASS/. China and Brazil agree that the Ukrainian crisis can only be settled if its root causes are addressed, according to a joint statement adopted after Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s visit to China.
"China and Brazil welcome recent signs about the parties’ readiness for dialogue and expect them to begin fruitful talks, build greater mutual understanding and work toward a political solution that addresses the legitimate concerns of all parties," the document says. "The sides [China and Brazil] insist on taking into account the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis to ultimately reach a fair, lasting and binding peace agreement."
The two countries are ready to continue consolidated efforts with countries of the global South toward settling the Ukrainian crisis, the statement says.
Speaking to reporters in the Kremlin on May 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin invited the Kiev authorities to resume the direct talks they broke off in 2022 without any preliminary conditions. He proposed to launch a dialogue on May 15 in Istanbul. The Russian leader recalled that Russia had declared ceasefires more than once but all of them, including the latest three-day V-Day truce, were violated by the Kiev regime.
Vladimir Zelensky, in turn, announced his intention to travel to Istanbul on Thursday after US President Donald Trump called on Ukraine to accept Putin’s invitation to engage in talks. Prior to this, Zelensky insisted that talks with Moscow were possible only amid a 30-day ceasefire.