Ukrainian president says Brasília-Beijing initiative shows “lack of respect” toward Kyiv’s position.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Brazil of being pro-Russia in the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine and lambasted a joint peace proposal drawn up by Brasília and Beijing.

“The Chinese-Brazilian proposal is also destructive, it’s just a political statement,” Zelenskyy said during an interview with Brazilian news site Metrópoles on Wednesday evening.

Brazil and China signed a joint statement in May calling for peace talks involving both Russia and Ukraine. However, according to the Ukrainian president, the two countries consulted Moscow but not Kyiv.

“We are not stupid,” Zelenskyy said during the interview. “How can you offer ‘here is our initiative’ without asking anything from us?” He added, “This is a lack of respect toward Ukraine.”