Russia Sends Top Diplomat to Meet Top Officials in Brazil After Lula’s China Visit

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira on Monday as part of Lavrov’s five-day Latin American tour to Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.

Lavrov is slated to hold a meeting with Brazilian radical leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva after his meeting with Vieira on Monday. Lavrov arrived in Brazil just as Lula returned from a visit to China, one of Russia’s closest allies, where the Brazilian president held hours-long talks with dictator Xi Jinping last week.

The meeting between the Russian and Brazilian top diplomats was held at the Itamaraty Palace in Brasília. During their meeting, Vieira reiterated Brazil’s request for an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine and a “peaceful solution” to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

“I reiterated our position in favor of an immediate cease-fire, of respect for humanitarian law, of a negotiated solution for a lasting peace,” Vieira said during a joint press conference.

The top Russian diplomat described his talks with the Brazilian government as “cordial,” adding that Russia understands Brazi’s position regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

“We are grateful to the Brazilian side, understanding of their stance in this situation, [and] grateful for their contribution to the solution of this conflict and problem, and we are taking it into consideration,” Lavrov said in response to his Brazilian counterpart. “We need to solve it in a lasting way and not rushed.”

The foreign ministers also discussed trade and details pertaining to the dates for meetings of intergovernmental commissions. Following the encounter between Lavrov and Vieira, the Brazilian top diplomat also noted Vladimir Putin’s invitation to Lula da Silva to visit Russia.

“Mr. Lavrov also conveyed President Putin’s invitation for President Lula da Silva to arrange an official visit to Russia. And we will work to determine dates convenient for both sides,” Vieira said.

The encounter between the foreign ministers and the upcoming meeting between Lavrov and Brazilian president Lula da Silva takes place after Lula accused the United States of “fomenting” the war in Ukraine in statements given during his visit to China. 

“The United States needs to stop fomenting war and start talking about peace,” Lula told journalists in Beijing on Saturday. “The European Union needs to start talking about peace so that we can convince Putin and [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky that peace is in everyone’s interest and that war is only of interest, for now, to the two of them.”

The Brazilian president, who has been attempting to insert himself into the Russian-Ukrainian conflict as a mediator since shortly after the start of his third presidential term, has placed the blame of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine on both countries.

“I think that the build-up to the war was easier than it will be to get out of the war. Because the decision of the war was made by two countries [Russia and Ukraine],” Lula said on Sunday during his official visit to Abu Dhabi. “And now what are we trying to build? We are trying to build a group of countries that have no involvement with the war, that do not want war, who want to build peace in the world, so we can talk to both Russia and Ukraine.”

“But we also have to take into account that we also have to talk to the United States and the European Union,” he continued. “In other words, we need to convince people that peace is the best way to restore any process of conversation.”

During his visit to China and the UAE, the Brazilian president discussed with both Chinese dictator Xi Jinping and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan the creation of a group of countries that “prefer to talk about peace rather than war” to act as mediators of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

“Brazil has defended, in international forums and bilateral contacts, the immediate cessation of hostilities and the importance of joining diplomatic efforts to facilitate the achievement of a peaceful negotiated solution,” the Brazilian foreign affairs ministry said through a public statement released before the meeting between Vieira and Lavrov took place.

Through a brief press statement, Russia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry announced that Lavrov will carry out a five-day trip to Latin America this week, meeting with the heads of state of Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, as well as their respective foreign ministers. Lavrov’s agenda is aimed at “strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation of our countries in politics, trade, economy, education, humanitarian sphere, culture and other fields.” 

According to the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry, Lavrov’s talks with the representatives of the listed Latin American countries will “focus on strengthening international legal foundations of the modern world, with the UN Charter as its supporting structure.”

“For us, Latin America is a friendly region, one of the centres of a multipolar world with which Russia intends to maintain a dynamic dialogue and develop constructive cooperation free from outside interference,” the statement read.

Lavrov is scheduled to hold a meeting with Lula at the presidential palace of Planalto at 3:00 p.m. local time. The Brazilian government has not publicly disclosed the details of Lula and Lavrov’s agenda at press time. Lavrov will also meet with Lula’s top foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim, according to Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency. Lula sent Amorim to Russia at the start of April to meet with Vladimir Putin to discuss prospective paths to peace with Ukraine.

Lula da Silva stated this month that Zelensky “could not get everything” and urged him to give up occupied Crimea, whose territory was seized by Russia in 2014, to end the invasion. The Ukrainian government almost immediately shot down the proposal.

In January, Lula refused Germany’s request to provide ammunition to Ukraine for the German-made Gepard anti-aircraft guns. 

“Brazil has no interest in passing the ammunition, so that it can be used in the war between Russia and Ukraine,” Lula said in January during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Brasília. “Brazil is a country of peace. Therefore, Brazil does not want to have any participation, even if indirect.”

Brazilian news website G1 reported on Monday that, according to an unnamed U.S. diplomatic source, the United States will closely follow Lavrov’s meeting with Lula, suggesting that if Lula’s agenda with Lavrov includes the war in Ukraine, the Brazilian government should also call Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba for a meeting.

“If Lula deals with the war in Ukraine, he should call the Ukrainian foreign minister for a conversation in Brasilia,” the source said to G1. “Brazil is not balanced on this issue. Brazil takes a position from Moscow’s stance.”

Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro criticized Lula’s statements against the United States through his Twitter account on Sunday afternoon, describing them as an “embarrassment” to the country’s foreign policy.

– Da China o cara acusa os EUA de incentivar a guerra. Diz também que o conflito, no momento só está interessando a Putin e a Zelensky.

– Lula, Dilma e Stedile, juntos, mais um vexame para a política externa brasileira. pic.twitter.com/lxepKzGasr

— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) April 16, 2023

“From China, the guy accuses the U.S. of encouraging war. He also says that the conflict, at the moment, is only of interest to Putin and Zelensky,” Bolsonaro said. “Lula, [former president Dilma] Rousseff and [Brazilian Economist and leader of the Marxist Landless Workers’ Movement João Pedro] Stedile, together, another disgrace to Brazilian foreign policy.”

Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.