Without Brazil’s support, American defense ministers reject Ukraine’s war

Despite the resistance shown by Brazil, the defense ministers of the American countries approved on Thursday, July 28, a document in which they repudiated Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. The text, entitled the Brasilia Declaration, was signed by 21 countries at the close of the 15th Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas.

“The conflicts present around the world, such as the invasion of Ukraine and the acts of violence exercised by armed groups terrorizing the population in Haiti, are not the legitimate means to resolve disputes, so the Member States of the CMDA (Conference of Ministers of Defense of the Americas) hope for a peaceful solution as soon as possible,” reads the second paragraph of the declaration.

Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico presented reservations to the declaration. The first two for considering that the UN is the “forum with the appropriate mandate to deal with the conflict in Ukraine”; the Mexican Ministry of Defense, in turn, said that the passage “does not correspond to the scope of the CMDA, since, based on the compatibility of Mexico’s foreign policy principles, it is not possible to adhere to it.

Brazil’s position was already expected since the country’s authorities had not included repudiation of the Russian operation in a draft declaration sent before the event. In previous meetings, the representatives of the Ministry of Defense stated that the theme should not be dealt with in the scope of the conference, citing international organizations “more appropriate for dealing with issues related to this conflict.”

The reservation follows a decision by President Jair Bolsonaro (Liberal Party – PL) and Brazil’s Foreign Ministry (Itamaraty) to maintain Brazil in a position seen as neutral during the war – which led to recent criticism from Ukrainian Volodimir Zelenski.

In the presidential palace’s understanding, the position reduces possible trade crises since Brazil depends on imported fertilizers from Russia.

The Ministry of Defense said, “Brazil already has a firm position [on the war] in international forums, through its diplomacy, as in the UN Security Council.

OUTSIDE

Canada’s Minister Anita Anand made advocacy for the Brasilia Declaration to include a repudiation of Russia. Before the bilateral meetings on Wednesday, July 27, she said she would try to convince her colleagues.

The text also went through discussions on two topics relevant to the US. The US-American authorities managed to convince the other countries to remove from the text a request that the member countries of the OAS (Organization of American States) support “greater budgetary support” for the Inter-American Defense Board – an international military organization that provides technical advice on defense.

Also discussed was a suggestion from the working group on cyber defense to advance legislation on the subject; the collegiate, chaired by Colombia, concluded that one of the main challenges is using fake profiles on social networks.

Brazil did not defend the inclusion of the passage in the final declaration, preferring to leave the suggestion in the group’s conclusions, according to two military sources heard by Folha.

The 15th Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas began on Monday, July 25, in Brasilia and officially ended this Thursday with the signing of the declaration. At the closing, Minister Paulo Sérgio Nogueira said that the event reinforced the countries’ commitment to democracy and freedom.

“I would like to share the enormous satisfaction of having seen how dedicated our countries have been to promoting and strengthening peace in America, joining efforts for the development and prosperity of the continent, as well as in the principles of democracy, sovereignty, and freedom, so dear to our peoples.”

During the four-day event, the general participated in ten bilateral meetings. In the main one, on Wednesday, July 27, he heard from the Secretary of Defense of the United States, Lloyd Austin, that the Joe Biden administration expects Brazil to hold fair and transparent elections this year.

The statement by Washington could be interpreted as an attempt to disseminate the idea that Bolsonaro could have a “coup rhetoric” and insinuate he is unreasonable for questioning the electoral system’s transparency and electronic ballot boxes’ reliability.

According to reports, the minister defended the actions of the Armed Forces with the TSE, recalled that they were invited to participate in the process, and said that the military has been working to ensure that the election is free and transparent.

One day before the bilateral meeting, Austin defended, in his opening speech of the event, that the Armed Forces of the American countries must be under “firm civilian control”, which is not the case in the United States.

With information from Folha de S.Paulo

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