Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called a Chinese-Brazilian peace proposal "destructive" that was created without the input of Kyiv.
Speaking in an interview with the Brazilian media outlet Metropoles, Zelenskiy said the proposal, announced last month by Beijing and Brazil, was "mostly pro-Russian" as it calls for a compromise from Ukraine, which has been fighting inside its own territory to repel invading Russian forces.
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"They say Ukraine must agree for compromise. What compromise? To give up its lands, forget that they are killing our people? What sort of compromise exactly? Compromise is something unacceptable here. You want us to forget murders, forget everything? I think this view is destructive," Zelenskiy said in the interview, published on September 12.
"How is it possible to propose something saying – this is our initiative, without even talking to us? And Russia immediately comes up and says we support the Brazil-Chinese proposal. We are not fools. Why do we need this theater?"
On August 1, China and Brazil jointly published a "six-point consensus" meant to bring about a lasting political solution to the war, launched by the Kremlin in February 2022.
The plan is a diplomatic outline that calls for cooling down fighting on the battlefield and a recognition that dialogue and negotiations are the only way to end the war.
Beijing has said the plan to end Russia's war against Ukraine has received a "positive response" from more than 110 countries.
But Zelenskiy sharply criticized the initiative in the interview, saying it "has nothing to do with justice, with values, this is, for sure, without taking into account Ukraine’s position and the issue of territorial integrity, of which both China and Brazil have been talking so much."
China has made a previous attempt to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, with a 12-point plan it put forward in February 2023 quickly dismissed by European leaders.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has strong working ties with China and has looked for his country to play a role in pushing for a peace process to end the war in Ukraine.
In July, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine would only engage Russia in peace talks when Moscow was "ready to negotiate in good faith," and added that "no such readiness is currently observed on the Russian side."