Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, thanks Brazil for its position on Ukraine

The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, traveled to the Brazilian capital. From there, he expressed his gratitude for Brazil’s approach to promote the end of the conflict in Ukraine, in the midst of an annoying visit for Kiev and the West and in full international hyperactivity of the Government of Inácio Lula da Silva, which seeks to recover influence at the national level. international dented by his predecessor, the far-right Jair Bolsonaro.

The person in charge of Russian international policy met with his Brazilian counterpart, Minister Mauro Vieira, who, in a complacent gesture, criticized the application of unilateral sanctions against Moscow. According to him, Brazil considers that the sanctions against Russia have negative effects for the world economy, in particular for developing nations. In addition, Vieira recalled that Brazil supports an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.

“We talked about various relevant issues on the international and regional agenda, underlining that the approaches of Brazil and Russia on the issues that are happening in the world today are similar,” Lavrov commented. “The two countries are united by the desire to contribute to a more democratic and polycentric world order, based on the fundamental principle of the sovereignty and equality of States,” he added.

“Regarding the process in Ukraine, we are grateful to our Brazilian friends for their excellent understanding of the genesis of this situation. We are grateful (to them) for making an effort to help find ways to resolve it,” Lavrov said.

For his part, Vieira told reporters that Russia accounts for a quarter of his country’s fertilizer imports, and that he and Lavrov discussed measures to guarantee supply.

Both will meet with Lula in the afternoon, according to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In addition, to exemplify the rapprochement between the two countries, Putin invited, through Lavrov, Lula da Silva to participate in the next edition of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, to be held next June.

The relationship between Washington and Brasilia cools

The visit comes at a particularly uncomfortable time for the United States and the European Union, which are hoping to relaunch relations with Brazil after four years of Bolsonaro isolation. Lula, seen with better eyes by the West, proposed the creation of a “club of peace”, a kind of forum that would be held in Brasilia with countries that it considers not aligned with any of the sides of the conflict in Ukraine to mediate in the peace negotiations.

Lavrov has said that the talks could work only if “the principle of multipolarity is respected and the security interests of the two states are taken into account, without exception.” “It is the principle of indivisibility of security, in which no country strengthens its security at the expense of the others,” he explained.

But the West views with concern the Brazilian impulse to mediate in the war with comments far from “neutrality.”

On Sunday, Lula told reporters in Abu Dhabi that two nations (Russia and Ukraine) had decided to go to war, and a day earlier, in Beijing, he assured that the United States and the European Union should stop “stimulating” the fighting. and start talking about peace.

The White House responded by saying that Lula was “parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda.” John Kirby, the White House national security spokesman, called Lula’s comments “simply wrong” and “deeply problematic.” For its part, the European Union also replied that Brazil should not forget that it was Russia that invaded Ukraine and that they simply seek to prevent the destruction of the country.

Vieira was quick to reply to Kirby’s words: “I don’t agree, I don’t know how or why they came to that conclusion, but I don’t agree at all,” said the Brazilian foreign minister.

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Earlier this month, Lula also suggested that Ukraine could cede Crimea to end the war, something Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko rejected.

Lula’s recent comments, in particular the attribution of any blame to Ukraine for the February 2022 Russian invasion, contradict the position of the European Union, the United States and Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky. For Ukraine, any ceasefire talks are seen as an opportunity for Russia to regroup its forces and launch a new offensive.

Russia, in search of Latin American allies

Critics point out that Brazil’s stance seeks to keep the flow of its main supplier of fertilizers stable for its soybean plantations, whose exports are largely destined for China. Both Russia and China have permanent seats on the UN Security Council, while Brazil has been trying to join them for decades.

In addition, Brazil has a privileged relationship with both powers as a result of being part of the BRICS group, which also includes India and South Africa, and which represents a permanent contact channel despite the fact that the motivation of this group is mainly commercial.

For Vinicius Vieira, a professor of international relations at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, Lula’s comments on Ukraine have been “miscalibrated” and to say that Kiev should cede Crimea would seem to favor Russia.

“The fertilizer issue is critical, but that would work out well with Brazil staying neutral, calling on all parties to talk, but not saying that Ukraine owes Russia anything,” the analyst said.

In an article published on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry and replicated in other media, Lavrov noted that Russia was in favor of strengthening cooperation with Latin American countries “on the basis of mutual support, solidarity and consideration of each other’s interests…in the spirit of strategic partnership”.

Lavrov’s trip seeks to show that Russia is not internationally isolated. Therefore, in addition to Brazil, he will visit Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.

With EFE and AP