BRAZIL – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in the Brazilian capital on Monday, while Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is pushing ahead with a peace proposal for Ukraine that has angered both Kiev and the West.
The meeting between Lavrov and his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira was scheduled for March, when they met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi. They met on Monday morning and, according to the Brazilian Foreign Ministry’s website, both will meet with Lula in the afternoon.
Lula has refused to send arms to Ukraine and has suggested creating a club of nations, including Brazil and China, that would be dedicated to trying to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. On Sunday he told reporters in Abu Dhabi that two nations – both Russia and Ukraine – had decided to go to war, and the day before in Beijing he said the United States should stop “stimulating” fighting and focus instead on finding peace. Days ago, he suggested Ukraine could cede Crimea to end the conflict, which spokesman for Ukrainian Foreign Minister Oleg Nikolenko rejected.
“Would you be willing to give up a piece of Brazil the size of Crimea… just to settle down? We will speak there,” former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt wrote on Twitter.
As part of his efforts to end hostilities, Lula has also refrained from sending ammunition to Ukraine, despite pleas from Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Lula says sending ammunition would mean Brazil’s entry into the war he wants to end.
His position was apparently valued by Moscow. One of about 50 secret documents leaked by the Discord platform and reviewed by The Associated Press says that in late February the Russian Foreign Ministry backed Lula’s plan to create a club of supposedly neutral nations because it ‘I would oppose that’ aggressor-victim paradigm that the West has.” The document cites electronic espionage as a source.
Celso Amorim, special adviser to the Brazilian Presidency and former foreign minister, traveled discreetly to Moscow a few days ago, where he met President Vladimir Putin. Vieira recently told reporters that Amorim “went to listen and to say that the time had come for dialogue.”
Critics argue that Brazil’s stance on the Ukraine war aims to bypass a key fertilizer supplier for its soybean crops, most of which exports to China. Both Russia and China have permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council, and Brazil has been trying to join for decades.
After his visit to Brazil, Lavrov will travel to Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.
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