By Daniel Carvalho and Olga Tanas*
Economic sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine take an unnecessary toll on nations not involved in the conflict, Brazil’s foreign minister, Mauro Vieira, said after meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Monday.
“In addition to not having the approval of the United Nations Security Council, [the sanctions] have a negative impact on economies around the world,” Vieira said in a statement to the press after he and Lavrov met in Brasilia.
Brazil is among the countries that have not participated in the sanctions imposed on Russia since its invasion in February 2022, when Lula’s predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, also opposed them.
However, the latest criticism could further complicate the Brazilian leader’s campaign to broker a deal between Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s President Volodymir Zelensky and bring his country into a leading global role.
THE BRAZILIAN LEADER MET WITH XI JINPING IN BEIJING ON FRIDAY
Lula returned Sunday from China, where he endorsed a vague plan by Xi Jinping to start talks on Ukraine.
The initiative has been largely rejected by Western nations that have condemned Russia for starting the war.
While the United States and its allies have rejected any ceasefire proposal allowing Russia to retain its territorial gains, some countries, such as France, have welcomed China’s effort to find a diplomatic solution.
The leftist leader’s stance on the war has alienated Brazil from many of its Western allies, which have supplied Kyiv with military equipment.
He has avoided singling out Moscow as the main culprit in the conflict, saying the Ukrainian president and Joe Biden are also to blame for not negotiating more with Putin.
Russia is “grateful to our Brazilian friends for their excellent understanding of the genesis of this situation” and “for the desire to contribute to the search for ways to resolve it,” Lavrov said after the meeting with Vieira on Monday.
Vieira, in his statement, said he reiterated Brazil’s support for “an immediate ceasefire” and “a negotiated solution with a view to lasting peace.”
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby responded on Monday and accused Brazil of “repeating Russian and Chinese propaganda without regard to the facts.”
“We have no objection to any country that wants to try to end the war in Ukraine,” Kirby told reporters.
“We think it is deeply problematic how Brazil has approached this issue substantively and rhetorically by suggesting that the US and Europe are somehow not interested in peace or that we share responsibility for the war.”
*Contributed by Jordan Fabian and Akayla Gardner.
With information from Bloomberg