BRAZIL PERSPECTIVE

Brasilia restitutes the sequence with the sobriety of a country that has refused for three years to choose between Washington and Moscow. The Jornal de Brasília headlines "In an open letter, Zelensky asks Putin to start direct negotiations in a neutral country" — the wording is essential: "neutral country" is the phrase Lula has used since 2023 to propose Brazil or the Vatican as a mediation venue. The Brazilian coverage implicitly recognizes that the letter rejoins its own peace plan, abandoned by Kyiv in 2023 and now resurrected in Ukrainian grammar. The interesting detail: the Brazilian press does not dwell on the Kremlin's mockery and prefers to highlight the potential of a meeting in a "neutral country". This editorial preference is not innocent — it relates to a soft-power calculation that wants Brazil to emerge as a credible alternative to Qatari or Turkish mediations. Lula already met Putin in June 2024 in St. Petersburg, giving Brazil a legitimacy that no Western country has today. The letter is therefore received in Brasilia as a political opportunity at a moment when the country hosts COP30 at the end of 2025 and wants to consolidate its Global South leadership. Lula has positioned Brazil as a credible alternative to Western mediations, and the letter offers proof that his language is now picked up elsewhere — including in Kyiv.