Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Saturday kicked off a European tour with a visit to Portugal to restore ties with the former colonial power.
And the Brazilian president announced, in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, his refusal to “participate” in the Ukrainian crisis and his desire to contribute to finding a “negotiated solution” between Kiev and Moscow.
“We also defend a negotiated solution,” he told the press, after a meeting in Lisbon with his Portuguese counterpart, Marcelo Rebelo de Souza.
“We urgently need a group of countries to sit at the negotiating table with Ukraine and Russia at the same time,” he said, stressing that “Brazil wants to establish peace.”
The Portuguese president said, “President Lula believes that the path to achieving a lasting and just peace assumes giving priority to the negotiation path. As for Portugal’s position, it differs. Lisbon believes that the path to peace presupposes Ukraine’s right to be able to respond.”
Lula, who returned to power after ruling Brazil between 2003 and 2010, wants to put his country at the center of global geopolitical events and has been trying to play a balanced role since the beginning of his new term.
In February, he visited the United States to meet his American counterpart, Joe Biden, at the White House, and recently China, Brazil’s largest trading partner.
On Monday, the Brazilian president heads to the Spanish capital, Madrid, for a two-day visit.
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