2023-04-19 06:28:42
12:01 AM
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s intention for Brazil to regain a leading role on the international scene led to a harsh clash with the United States, a controversy in which Russia and China are closely following the progress of the dispute.
In effect, Lula came out to blame Washington, Ukraine and the European Union for encouraging the bloody invasion that Russia carried out more than a year ago. And he said it in a context in which a visit to China was involved and after receiving the head of Kremlin diplomacy in its territory.
“It is necessary that the United States stop encouraging war” and that together with Europe “begin to talk about peace.” And he reiterated that Ukraine shares blame for the war with Russia, something kyiv strongly rejected.
These claims went down badly in Washington, where they were perceived as a kind of subservience to Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.
The White House considered Lula’s message “deeply problematic” and warned that “Brazil is parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda,” making “erroneous” comments.
The spokesman for the National Security Council, John Kirby, added – without mentioning Lula – that “Brazil’s most recent comments that Ukraine should consider the formal cession of Crimea as a peace concession are simply wrong, especially for a country like Brazil that has voted in favor of defending the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
And while Moscow and Beijing understood this as an endorsement, and kyiv read it as ignorance of what it means to be a territory invaded without any justification, Brazil defended Lula’s theses. And he did it when the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, is in Brasilia.
“I don’t know how or why (the White House) came to that conclusion. But I do not agree in any way,” said Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira.
In addition, the diplomat added that Russia and Brazil “this year celebrate 195 years of diplomatic relations”, so “they are two countries that have a common history.”
In any case, as was to be expected, the government of Volodimir Zelenski rejected this type of approach and invited the Brazilian to Ukraine so that he “understands” the reality of Russian aggression.
Indeed, the spokesman for Ukrainian diplomacy, Oleg Nikolenko, criticized Lula for putting “the victim and the aggressor on the same level” and for attacking Kiev’s allies who help it “protect itself from murderous aggression.”
And to all this was added a harsh warning from the G7 foreign ministers, who assured that any country that helps the Russian military campaign will face “severe costs”. Gathered in Japan, the diplomatic chiefs of the world’s major economies have vowed to crack down on anyone who helps Russia acquire weapons and evade sanctions.
This shows that the leadership that Lula seeks to project is still dead.
Zelensky and Putin show teeth
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited one of the hottest spots on the eastern front after his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin went to occupied territories that analysts say could become the scene of an imminent Ukrainian counter-offensive. Zelensky decorated soldiers in a partially destroyed area of Avdiivka (Donetsk region), a city bombarded for months by the Russian army. “I am honored to be here and thank you for your service,” he said. And Putin, whose public movements are exceptional and under tight security, made a surprise visit to Moscow-occupied areas of Ukraine. “It’s important for me to hear his opinion on the situation,” he warned.
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