Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Wednesday he would try to urge Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend possible peace talks this week with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, amid suspense over whether Putin would take part in the proposed meeting in Turkey.

Putin proposed restarting direct talks “without preconditions” on Thursday in Istanbul about the more than three-year war. Zelenskyy then challenged the Kremlin leader to meet in Turkey in person.

Lula has maintained close ties with Putin despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — a position that has caused tensions with the Kyiv government and raised eyebrows in the West.

Lula on Wednesday stopped over in Moscow on his return from a state visit in China, where he told journalists: “When I get to Moscow, I’m going to try to talk to Putin. It won’t cost me anything to say, ‘Hey, comrade Putin, go to Istanbul and negotiate.”

They did not meet, but the Kremlin said he and Putin spoke by phone.

— The Associated Press