(Reuters) -The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Brazil’s efforts to mediate in the conflict in Ukraine “deserved attention”, but it had not seen any plans for a peace deal presented by France.
Bloomberg reported earlier that French President Emmanuel Macron was looking to approach China with a plan that could form the basis for talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
Meanwhile Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva drew criticism from the United States on Monday for his recent comments suggesting the West had been “encouraging” the conflict by arming Ukraine. He said Washington should stop sending weapons to Ukraine and start talking about peace.
Lula has proposed establishing a group of countries not involved with the war to broker peace, telling reporters on Sunday he had discussed the idea with the leaders of China and the United Arab Emirates.
Asked about Lula’s suggestion, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “Any ideas that take account of Russia’s interests deserve attention and certainly need to be listened to.”
Various countries and world leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping, France’s Macron and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, have tried to position themselves as possible peacemakers, nearly 14 months into the war.
Russia says it is open to talks but has made clear these would only take place on its own terms. It says Ukraine must accept the “new realities” on the ground – specifically its annexation of four Ukrainian territories, dismissed as illegal by Kyiv and the West.
Ukraine has repeatedly said it will not discuss peace or a ceasefire until Russian troops leave every inch of Ukraine’s internationally recognised territory, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying any temporary truce would simply allow Russia to regroup for a future attack.
Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that Macron was trying to work with China to devise a plan that could be used as a basis for talks between the two sides.
The Kremlin said it had seen the reports but had not been in touch with France on the issue. “We are not aware of the existence of any French plan, we have not received anything from the French side,” Peskov said.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
