Madrid [Spain], April 23: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has again criticized Russia for invading Ukraine but suggested that both countries share blame for the continuation of the war.
Speaking during a state visit to Portugal on Saturday, Lula did not call for Russia to withdraw troops from Ukraine but reiterated his call for peace talks between both countries. "Russia doesn't want to stop, and Ukraine doesn't want to stop," he said in Lisbon, as the Portuguese state news agency Lusa reported. Lula again stressed that Brazil wants to work with its partners to facilitate peace between Russia and Ukraine but did not give details. Ukraine previously categorically rejected Lula's suggestion that Kyiv relinquishes the Crimean Peninsula, occupied and annexed by Russia since 2014, as part of a peace deal. The Ukrainian government has made the withdrawal of all Russian troops from the country a precondition for peace negotiations.
Only a few days ago, the Brazilian leader criticized the defence alliance NATO and other Western countries for the military support given to Ukraine, claiming during an official visit to China that "the United States must stop promoting war and start talking about peace, the EU needs to start talking about peace."
Washington sharply criticized Lula for the remarks, with John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council, accusing the Brazilian leader of parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda.
Lula's host, Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, distanced himself from the Brazilian president's remarks, stressing that Ukraine had the right to defend itself and to liberate its territory occupied by Russia. Only on this basis is lasting peace possible, the Portuguese president said. While in Lisbon, Lula is expected to discuss stalled negotiations for a free trade agreement between the European Union and the South American trade bloc Mercosur.
The left-wing Brazilian president has described his recent international trips as "a reboot" of Brazil's relations with the world after the tenure of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro.He is scheduled to travel onward to Spain on Wednesday.
Source: Qatar Tribune