Statements by President Lula da Silva about the war in Ukraine, made in China and then in the United Arab Emirates, created a mini-political storm in Portugal, with the PSD demanding the government to demarcate itself, the Liberal Initiative saying it Portuguese parliament he can no longer receive him on April 25 and the PS notes that he does not agree but understands the position of the head of state of Brazil.
“US should stop encouraging war and start talking about peace”, “EU should start talking about peace”, “Europe and US continue to contribute to the continuation of the war”, “the war decision has been made by both sides to land [Ucrânia e Rússia]”, “peace is in the interest of all and war is for the time being only in the interest of the two [Putin e Zelensky]”.
These were some of Lula’s statements that led the right-wing opposition to attack the government and the PS. “The Portuguese Government – as a sovereign body responsible for conducting foreign policy – in full respect of the sovereignty of Brazil, through the Prime Minister, António Costa, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, cannot fail to demarcate, through the channels diplomatic but also publicly, the statement that the EU, NATO and the United States are fomenting and encouraging war,” said MEP Paulo Rangel, Vice-President of the PSD. “With the same candor and even intrepidity with which the President of Brazil speaks of EU complicity and intervention and seeks to mitigate or omit the responsibility of the Putin regime, Prime Minister António Costa must reaffirm Portugal’s position in favor of the international law, the territorial integrity of Ukrainian sovereignty and peace.”
The Liberal Initiative, on the other hand, took advantage of the case to rule through a statement posted on Twitter by Rui Rocha, leader of the party, that the Portuguese parliament is no longer able to receive the Brazilian leader on December 25. April. The Assembly of the Republic [AR] who invited Zelensky to speak on April 21, 2022, cannot host a Putin ally like Lula on April 25. And the president of the republic who awarded the Order of Freedom to Zelensky cannot be comfortable with the presence of a Putin ally like Lula in the AR on April 25,” Rui Rocha wrote.
Chega, for his part, took advantage of the episode to oppose… the PSD. “It is scandalous to see a party that should be leading the centre-right say that it welcomes Lula da Silva’s presence in Portugal on April 25, the day of democratic conquest,” said André Ventura.
With all this, the PS, which was forced to separate from Lula for diplomatic reasons, but without attacking him, confirmed its position of support for Ukraine and condemnation of Russia. However, he stressed that Brazil’s president, like President Macron, should be commended for what he represents in the “quest for peace”, a “legitimate concern of Portugal, of the Portuguese [e] of the world’s citizens, said the national PS leader responsible for international relations, MP Jamila Madeira.
Meanwhile, the PCP said the Brazilian president is “very welcome” in Portugal.
Source: DN
