Brazil's Lula asks Putin to attend talks with Ukraine

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday spoke to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin by phone and asked him to attend this week's talks with Ukraine in Istanbul, Lula's office said in a statement.

Lula "emphasized Brazil's commitment to peace and once again made himself available to collaborate in whatever way necessary in the search for understanding between Russia and Ukraine," the statement said.

(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Editing by Leslie Adler)