BRAZILIAN President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is embarking on his first trip to Europe since assuming office in January, with visits to Portugal and Spain.
Lula earlier landed in Lisbon, Portugal, to discuss various agendas and to forecast the signing of at least 13 agreements between both countries.
The European trip is aimed at “relaunching Brazil’s relations with Europe” and will focus on Brazil’s efforts to set up a group of countries to mediate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
It also comes after Lula’s recent comments on the conflict have sparked diplomatic tension with the United States, European Union, and Ukraine, after saying that the United States should stop encouraging the war in Ukraine.
Due to his remarks, Lula received accusations of him parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda as said by National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby.
Despite this, Lula continues to push for the creation of a group of neutral nations to mediate the Russia-Ukraine conflict, saying, and quote, while my government condemns the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, we advocate a negotiated political solution to the conflict, end of quote.
“While my government condemns the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, we advocate a negotiated political solution to the conflict,“ said Pres. Lula da Silva.
It can be noted that Brazil is among the nations that refrained from imposing sanctions on Russia since it launched its so-called military operation in February 2022.
Lula has also refused to provide Ukraine with weapons and has been striving to cultivate friendly ties with all countries and revive Brazil’s role as a deal-maker and go-between. He is seeking to finalize a trade deal between the EU and the South American Bloc Mercosur and is keen to show he believes in the vision of global democracy that Europe stands for.
The Brazilian president’s trip will conclude with a visit to Spain, where he will meet with King Felipe Vi and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
