The head of Brazilian diplomacy on Monday rejected criticism from Washington, which accused Brazil of “echoing Russian and Chinese propaganda” on the conflict in Ukraine, on the first day of the visit of the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov in Brazil.
“I don’t know how or why (the spokesman for the White House National Security Council) came to this conclusion. But I don’t agree in any way,” Mauro Vieira told reporters in Brasilia.
On Monday, John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, a body directly attached to the American president, declared that “Brazil echoes Russian and Chinese propaganda without taking into account the facts”.
“Recent comments from Brazil that Ukraine should consider formally ceding Crimea as a concession for peace are simply misguided,” he told the United Nations.
The heads of diplomacy of the G7 meeting in Japan have them severely warned on Tuesday the countries which would provide assistance to Russia in Ukraine, promising to make them “pay a high price”.
This statement comes on the first day of the visit to Brazil by Sergei Lavrov, who is starting a tour of Latin America.
He met Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula at the Alvorada Palace, the official residence of the Brazilian head of state. This interview did not lead to the publication of an official press release.
“We thank Brazil for its contribution to (the search for) a solution to this conflict,” said the head of Russian diplomacy during a press conference.
Mr Lavrov said Moscow wanted “the conflict to end as soon as possible”, but advocated a “lasting and not immediate” solution.
Last week, Lula reiterated his intention to create a “G20 peace”, a group of countries whose goal would be to work for an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
He also said that Washington should “stop encouraging war and start talking about peace”. And “the European Union must start talking about peace”, had launched the Brazilian president Saturday in front of journalists in Beijing.
During a stopover in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, Lula had judged that “Europe and the United States continue to contribute to the continuation of the war. So they must sit around the table and say: Enough “.
These criticisms echo those made by Moscow and Beijing, which blame Western countries for the continuation of the war that began in February 2022 with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Ten days ago, in Turkey, Sergei Lavrov had affirmed that the peace negotiations on Ukraine were only possible if they aimed at the establishment of a “new world order”, without American domination.
“We are grateful to our Brazilian friends for the excellent understanding of the genesis of this situation” in Ukraine, commented Mr. Lavrov in Brasilia.
“We are united by a common desire to form a fairer polycentric world,” he added.
Mr. Lavrov’s visit to Brasilia comes three weeks after that in Moscow of Celso Amorim, President Lula’s main adviser for international affairs, who had met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Brazil and Russia are part of the Brics, a group of emerging countries which also includes India, China and South Africa.
Unlike several Western powers, Brazil has never imposed financial sanctions on Russia or agreed to supply ammunition to Kiev and is trying to position itself, like China, as a mediator.
According to the Russian state agency TASS, Brazil is the first stage of a one-week tour by Mr. Lavrov which should also take him to Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, three countries openly hostile to Washington.
04/18/2023 08:11:09 – Brasilia (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
