The head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, arrived this Tuesday 20 in Brazil, which is in a diplomatic crisis with Israel following statements made by President Lula (PT) on the attacks on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli reaction to the PT member's comments sparked outrage in Itamaraty.
Blinken arrived in Brasília late Tuesday to begin a trip that will also take him to Argentina. He will meet Lula in the federal capital on Wednesday the 21st Brazil holds the presidency of the G20.
On Sunday 18, during a trip to Ethiopia, Lula indirectly compared the Israeli offensive in Gaza to the Holocaust. This Tuesday, the USA announced that it disagreed with the statements.
“We have made it very clear that we do not believe that what happened in Gaza is genocide,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
In Brazil, Blinken will also attend a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Rio de Janeiro between Wednesday and Thursday. The Russian Sergei Lavrov should be on the agenda.
There are no official plans to meet between the two, particularly because of the unrest caused by the death of Russian opponent Alexei Navalny. Western countries, led by the USA, blame Russia for this.
This is Blinken's first visit to Brazil as secretary of state. Relations between the countries have improved since Lula's return to power in 2023.
(With information from AFP)