BRASILIA: Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva faced criticism after making remarks during his recent trip to China that appeared to align with Russian and Chinese propaganda regarding the conflict in Ukraine.
The White House criticized Lula for suggesting that Washington was “encouraging the war” and that Kyiv shared blame for the conflict. The comments were condemned by Ukraine, which expressed anger at the remarks.
However, on Tuesday, Lula made it clear that his government “condemns the violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine” during a lunch in honor of visiting Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.
Lula’s main foreign policy adviser, Celso Amorim, described the criticism of the Brazilian president as “absurd” and insisted that Brazil has previously condemned the invasion of Ukraine.
Lula also met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Brasilia on Monday. Lavrov is currently on a tour of several Latin American nations, including Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua, whose leftist governments are under US sanctions and at loggerheads with Washington.
Although Brazil has not joined Western countries in imposing sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Lula has proposed creating a group of countries to mediate in the conflict.
Russia expresses gratitude for Brazil’s clear understanding
Russia has expressed gratitude for Brazil’s clear understanding of the situation and their desire to contribute to finding ways of settling the conflict.
While Lula faced criticism for his earlier remarks, he has now made it clear that Brazil condemns the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Brazil has not joined Western nations in imposing sanctions on Russia for its invasion, but Lula has proposed creating a group of countries to mediate in the conflict.
