Lula da Silva accuses the United States of “stimulating” the war in Ukraine

The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvahe said on Saturday that the US must stop “fomenting war” in Ukraine, in a last message before leaving China and heading to the UAE.

“The United States must stop encouraging war and start talking about peace, the European Union must start talking about peace,” Lula said the day after meeting his counterpart Xi Jinping in the Chinese capital on a State that for many analysts it has become a challenge to Washington.

Returning to power in January after his two mandates between 2003 and 2010, the Brazilian leader went to China to strengthen economic ties with his main trading partner, with whom he has also demonstrated diplomatic harmony in many respects.

The question of Ukraine was on the agenda of this visit, in which Lula wanted to demonstrate that his country “is back” in world geopolitics after four years in the government of his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, characterized by a certain international pickup.

Unlike the Western powers, neither China nor Brazil have imposed sanctions against Russia and try to position themselves as mediators to achieve peace.

sending weapons

If Washington stops encouraging war, the international community will be able to “convince” the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, that “peace is in the interest of the whole world and that war is in the interest of , for the moment, the two of them,” Lula argued.

One of the goals of his trip to China and his meeting with Xi Jinping was to create a group of countries to work out a negotiated solution to the conflict caused by Russia’s invasion, but Lula did not provide details of progress in this briefing.

“You have to be patient” to talk to Putin and Zelensky, he said. “But above all it is necessary to convince the countries that are supplying arms, encouraging war, to stop,” she added.

In their meeting, Lula and Xi affirmed that “dialogue and negotiation” are “the only viable way” to resolve the crisis and urged other countries to play a “constructive role” in the face of a political solution, the lula reported. state agency of China. Xinhua.

geopolitical life

The leader of the Brazilian centre-left is committed a delicate geopolitical balancing actin good harmony with China but at the same time trying to maintain close relations with the United States.

In February he was received at the White House by Joe Biden, in a meeting in which both presented themselves as champions of democratic values ​​and defenders of the environment.

This Saturday, Lula was confident that this strengthening of relations between Brasilia and Beijing will not cause any “scratches” with the United States.”

“We don’t need to break and fight with anyone to improve. Brazil must look for its interests. Brazil must look for what it needs and Brazil must make possible agreements with all countries,” he defended.

After canceling his planned trip at the end of March due to “pneumonia”, the 77-year-old Brazilian leader arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday night, where he had a meeting on Thursday a primarily economic agenda.

In China’s most populous city, Lula questioned the use of the dollar as a global currency, criticized the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and met with representatives of the Huawei technology companylocated on a blacklist of Chinese companies in Washington.

Once in the capital, the visit took on a more political tone, with several meetings with local leaders culminating in a meeting with Xi Jinping, who received him with a red carpet in the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square.

Economy and climate change

After the meeting, both countries issued a joint statement calling on developed countries to meet their commitment to disburse $100,000 million annually for finance the fight for the climate and the energy transition of poor countries.

“We urge developed countries to honor their unfulfilled climate finance obligations and commit to their new collective target, which is well in excess of $100 billion annually,” says the document, which directly targets United States and Europe.

For his part, the Chinese president assured Lula that the development of the Asian economy “will open up new opportunities for Brazil and for countries around the world,” according to a statement from China’s foreign ministry.

Back in Brazil, Lula made a stop in the United Arab Emirates, where on Saturday he met the president, the Emir Mohamed Bin Zayed al Nahyane.

Source: AFP