Negotiating points: China and Brazil are preparing a new meeting on Ukraine

China and Brazil are preparing a new meeting to discuss the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict. The parties are currently agreeing on the time and place of the Friends of the World meeting, Celso Amorim, chief adviser to the Brazilian president, told Izvestia. At the recent BRICS online summit, the countries of the association agreed to promote the format, the initiative is also supported by Slovakia and Hungary. At the same time, Brasilia and Beijing draw attention to the fact that negotiations on a settlement are currently difficult. European countries continue to inflate the situation with UAVs over the territory of Poland and are trying to convince the United States to increase pressure on the Russian Federation.

"Friends of the World" will hold a new meeting

Brazil and China are preparing a new meeting within the framework of the Friends of the World joint initiative, whose participants are looking for ways to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. This was stated to Izvestia by the chief adviser to the President of Brazil, Celso Amorim.

— The group's agenda is formed in accordance with the political opportunities that we identify. We adapt to the circumstances so that our initiatives remain constructive. We are currently studying the dates and venue of the meeting in the near future," he said.

The Friends of the World platform was created in September 2024. The first meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, was attended by 15 countries, including Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey, South Africa, and Mexico, mostly representatives of the Global South. At the same time, Switzerland, which had long ceased to be neutral, and even the NATO countries Hungary and France joined the participants, but so far as observers. By the way, Budapest and now Bratislava continue to work closely with the band.

— The list of observers is determined in preparation for each meeting. For example, Hungary and Slovakia have shown a steady interest in monitoring our work," said Celso Amorim.

By the way, at the recent BRICS online summit, the countries of the association agreed to develop the role of "Friends of the World" in resolving the crisis. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed confidence that the group can contribute to the solution on Ukraine.

"It should be noted that the weight of the peacekeeping contribution of the countries of the Global South is steadily increasing, which once again indicates their increasing role in solving key problems on the international agenda," Oleg Karpovich, Vice Rector of the Diplomatic Academy, told Izvestia.

Brazil and China are perhaps among the most active countries trying to find a way to resolve the Ukrainian conflict, or at least encourage everyone else to do so. In addition to creating "Friends of Peace," States have already proposed their own initiative to resolve the crisis. In May 2024, Brasilia and Beijing unveiled a six-point peace plan. It includes, among other things, the unhindered import of humanitarian aid to areas affected by the fighting, the protection of civilians, and the exchange of prisoners of war. A few months later, China's special representative for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, said that he was supported by more than 110 countries. But not Ukraine and the United States, whose policies were then determined by the Democrats led by Joe Biden. Vladimir Zelensky called the plan destructive, saying that no one personally "asked Ukraine about anything."

The Ukrainian crisis is discussed at almost every contact between the Chinese and Brazilian sides at different levels. In August, Amorim spoke by phone with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and in September he met with him personally during a visit to China on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of victory in World War II.

— Brazil and China maintain a constant dialogue on the Ukrainian issue. Our goal is to help the parties find possible solutions through negotiations," says the presidential adviser. — We (Brazil and China. They stressed that dialogue and diplomatic negotiations, rather than the use of force, are the only possible way. This contrasts with the position of those who openly spoke about the need for Russia's strategic defeat.

The position of Brazil and China partly repeats the Russian one, but it also has significant differences. The parties argue that in order to work out a long-term solution, it is necessary to consider the underlying causes of the conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly mentioned the need to root out the root causes of the crisis. At the same time, according to the adviser, "our general agreements emphasize the need to create conditions for a cease-fire," meaning, in fact, they insist first on a truce, and only then on a long-term peace.

— For this, it is important to have a roadmap defining the key issues for discussion in the medium and long term, - said Amorim.

After Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump held a historic meeting in Alaska on August 15, the process of resolving the Ukrainian crisis noticeably accelerated. Already on August 18, a whole landing party of leading European politicians went to the United States, along with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine. Zelensky also arrived there, and the head of the White House even called the subsequent negotiations with him successful.

— It is encouraging that after a long diplomatic break, the parties have returned to the negotiating table, albeit to a limited extent — for example, in Turkey and Alaska. However, negotiations remain difficult, and events on the battlefield are worrisome," Celso Amorim told Izvestia.

Indeed, direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations are currently on pause, Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

At the same time, Moscow remains interested in resolving the conflict and remains ready for dialogue. Kiev, on the other hand, has not responded to Russia's proposals for negotiations in Istanbul after three rounds or even for the creation of online working groups. There is no progress on a potential trilateral Russia–USA–Ukraine summit, which was discussed after Alaska, the Kremlin said. So far, of all the agreements, and even partially, the exchange of prisoners and bodies has been observed.

On October 18, Russia and Ukraine conducted the first exchange of dead bodies in a month. The remains of 1,000 soldiers were transferred to Kiev. The information was confirmed by the representative of the parliamentary coordination group on military operations, State Duma deputy Shamsail Saraliev, as well as the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. The last exchange took place on August 19th. According to Russian Presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, the Russian side handed over 1,000 troops to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and returned the bodies of 19 of its soldiers.

Meanwhile, the EU is taking advantage of the pause in the negotiations by cracking down on bellicose rhetoric. An investigation into the drone incident over Poland is ongoing in Europe. On September 10, Polish authorities reported that at least 19 UAVs had violated the country's airspace. Warsaw hastened to blame Russia for the incident without evidence. Moscow reported that the Russian Armed Forces attacked enterprises of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex, but they were not planned to target facilities in Poland. Poland did not respond to the Russian Defense Ministry's proposal to hold consultations.

Russian officials stress that the drone incident may be a provocation — it happened too soon. It is noteworthy that the fallen drones did not have advanced navigation systems and weapons, so they probably represent hastily assembled copies of Russian drones so that the Russian Federation could be blamed, military expert Viktor Litovkin explained to Izvestia. In addition, the European media runs the version that drones appeared over Poland as a result of the work of Ukrainian or even Polish electronic warfare systems.

Against this background, the Polish authorities hastily invoked Article 4 of the NATO Charter, which implies consultations of all participants. As a result, the alliance announced the launch of Operation Eastern Sentry to strengthen the union's positions on the eastern flank, actively starting to transfer equipment. An attempt to solve the problem only by military means will doom Eurasia to a vicious circle of destruction, Celsu Amorim told Izvestia.

At the same time, Brussels is trying to force Washington to impose sanctions against Russia together. Trump has made it clear that he will align himself with the EU on this issue if the allies completely stop buying Russian energy resources, which is still very problematic for Europe. At the same time, after Trump's call, the EU is now allegedly considering the possibility of accelerating the refusal to import Russian LNG, Bloomberg writes.

However, the pressure campaign from the UK has not yet produced a visible result. At a press conference following talks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer on September 18, Trump said he was counting on "good news" in the context of resolving the conflict in Ukraine.

The current President of the United States continues to look for opportunities for the most optimal resolution of the Ukrainian conflict. After meeting with Putin in Alaska, he came to a clear understanding that in order to eliminate the root causes of the conflict in Ukraine, a long-term sustainable settlement is required, Oleg Karpovich emphasizes.