Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stressed on Wednesday that he condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while defending peace after being criticized by the United States and the European Union for his statements.
“While my government condemns the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, we advocate a negotiated political solution. I spoke about our concerns about the consequences of the war, which extend beyond the European continent.”said Lula da Silva after a meeting with the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, at the Planalto Palace in Brasília, quoted in the local press.
After organizing a luncheon for the Romanian Head of State, a member of NATO and the European Union, the Brazilian President assured that he had “listened with great interest to President Iohannis’ reflections on the war in Ukraine, a country with which Romania most shares”. of 600 kilometers border”.
Lula da Silva insisted there was an “urgent need” for a group of countries to bring Russia and Ukraine to the peace negotiating table.
In the joint statement by the two countries, the heads of state reaffirmed their commitment to international law, the Charter of the United Nations, “the promotion and protection of peace and international security, human rights, commitment to democracy and the rule of law”. “.
In the note from the Brazilian presidency, the two countries stressed the “need to continue, within the scope of the UN, the reform of the United Nations Security Council”, one of the ambitions of Lula da Silva’s new Brazilian foreign policy, which intends to see your country on the board.
On Monday, Russia’s Foreign Minister in Brasilia supported Brazil’s intentions to join the United Nations Security Council.
Also on Monday, US and EU spokesmen criticized Lula da Silva for saying NATO members are helping prolong the war.
Most emphatically was White House spokesman John Kirby, who accused Lula da Silva of “talking after” Russian and Chinese propaganda about the war in Ukraine without stopping to study “the facts”.
“It is deeply problematic how Brazil has addressed this issue, both substantively and rhetorically, by suggesting that the United States and Europe are somehow uninterested in peace or that they share responsibility for war.”Kirby said.
Lula da Silva’s adviser on international affairs, Celso Amorim, rejected the White House spokesman’s statements on Wednesday, calling them “absurd.”
In an interview with Globenews television, Amorim stressed that Brazil has historically maintained a position of non-alignment with the ruling power, which should not be confused with neutrality.
However, he maintained his criticism of NATO allies for arming Ukraine and giving “false hope” that it could defeat Russia on the battlefield.
On Monday, Lula da Silva received Russian Foreign Minister Serguei Lavrov at the start of his visit to Latin America.
Last week, during his trip to China and the United Arab Emirates, Lula da Silva said that the US should stop “encouraging” war and “start talking about peace” like the European Union, insisting that the pointing the finger for “contributing” to the continuation of the war by sending weapons to the Ukrainian government.
Brazil condemned the invasion of Ukraine at the UN, but also joined Russia’s positions in voting for an investigation into the attack on the Nordstream gas pipeline last September.
Source: DN
