Brazil’s president says he “doesn’t want to please anyone” with his views on the conflict after drawing criticism in the West for suggesting Kiev was partly responsible for the war.
Brazilian President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva has called for a “negotiated” solution to the war between Russia and Ukraine, saying he does not “want to please anyone” with his views on the conflict.
Lula, seeking to revive Brazil’s role as a dealmaker and middleman, angered Ukraine by saying Kiev shares the blame for the war and has not joined Western nations in imposing sanctions on Moscow or supplying of ammunition to Kiev.
“While my government condemns the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, we support a negotiated political solution to the conflict,” Lula told reporters on Saturday after a meeting with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in Lisbon.
The Brazilian leader, who was greeted by demonstrators when he arrived in Portugal, said his goal was to “find a way to bring both of them [Russia and Ukraine] To the table”.
“I want to find a third alternative [to solve the conflict]what is the construction of peace,” he told a news conference.
The Portuguese president said: “President Lula believes that the path to a just and lasting peace means that negotiations must be a priority.
“Portugal has a different position. We think that in order to enable a path to peace, Ukraine must first have the right to respond to the invasion.”
Lula, 77, who resumed office in January after serving as Brazil’s president from 2003 to 2010, met US President Joe Biden in Washington, D.C., in February and visited China, Brazil’s largest trading partner, earlier this month.
Lula has been criticized in the West for suggesting that Ukraine and Russia are responsible for the conflict that began when Moscow invaded its neighbor in February 2022.
Last week he said the United States and European allies should stop supplying weapons to Ukraine, saying they are continuing the war.
“If you don’t make peace, you contribute to war,” Lula said.
The White House accused Lula of “parroting” Russian and Chinese propaganda.
Portugal is a founding member of NATO and has sent military equipment to Ukraine. Rebelo de Sousa said Ukraine has the right to defend itself and “retake” its territory.
Lula’s comments about the war have angered the Ukrainian community in Portugal, where a demonstration was held outside the Brazilian embassy on Friday.
Earlier on Saturday, Lula attended a welcoming ceremony outside the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon. Two Ukraine supporters carrying a flag and a sign were not allowed to stand near the ceremony site because police officers told them they had not asked for permission to protest.