Brazil's president elect Lula said Zelensky "just as responsible" for war as Putin

Brazilian president elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a popular but controversial leftist, once called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “a bit weird” and said he “should have negotiated a little more” if he did not want war against his country.

In national elections on Sunday, the former union leader won a razor-thin victory against Jair Bolsonaro, the right-wing incumbent who had been friendly with former U.S. President Donald Trump.

But Kristina Javanovski, a journalist based in Berlin, noted how Lula said Zelensky “is as responsible as Putin for the war” against Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s forces in his country during a March interview with TIME.

“Sometimes I sit and watch the President of Ukraine speaking on television, being applauded, getting a standing ovation by all the [European] parliamentarians. This guy is as responsible as Putin for the war. Because in the war, there’s not just one person guilty,” he told interviewer Ciara Nugent, adding that, to him, Saddam Hussein was as guilty as then-President George W. Bush for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Lula said Zelensky’s behavior “is a little bit weird,” asking why the Ukrainian leader was speaking before foreign parliaments instead of at a negotiating table with Putin.

“Can you really say that to Zelensky? He didn’t want a war, it came to him,” asked Nugent.

“He did want war. If he didn’t want war, he would have negotiated a little more. That’s it,” responded Lula.

He said Putin also made a mistake by invading, but continued, “I don’t think anyone is trying to help create peace. People are stimulating hate against Putin. That won’t solve things! We need to reach an agreement. But people are encouraging [the war]. You are encouraging this guy [Zelensky], and then he thinks he is the cherry on your cake.”

“We should be having a serious conversation: ‘OK, you were a nice comedian. But let us not make war for you to show up on TV.’ And we should say to Putin: ‘You have a lot of weapons, but you don’t need to use them on Ukraine. Let’s talk!’”

Bolsonaro on Tuesday promised a strong opposition in name of “God, fatherland, family and freedom” but has not yet admitted defeat.