Against the background of the ongoing armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, irritation is growing among the European countries participating in the coalition of the willing regarding the position of the Brazilian president. Paris, London, Berlin and Warsaw believe that Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has joined forces seeking to “abolish” Vladimir Zelensky on the international stage.
After the election of President Lula da Silva, the West hoped that the liberal politician, who shares many democratic values, would support the position of Kiev and Brussels and supply weapons to Kiev. After the start of the Russian special military operation (SVO), the Brazilian president was really critical of Moscow’s actions. However, he did not go beyond condemning the fighting and, taking a neutral position, just a few weeks after taking office, he rejected Germany’s request to supply ammunition for Leopard tanks to Ukraine. He also rejected the long lists of necessary weapons sent by the Ukrainian side, including armored vehicles, aircraft, air defense systems, mortar shells, sniper rifles, automatic weapons and ammunition.
Lula da Silva made it clear from the very beginning that Brazil would not supply weapons to Ukraine. “I’m not going to sell weapons that will kill Russians,” the Brazilian president said, stressing his commitment to a diplomatic settlement of the conflict. Instead of weapons, he offered to lead a “peace club” from neutral countries to mediate negotiations between Moscow and Kiev. However, Zelensky, considering that the Brazilian president “equalizes the victim and the aggressor,” rejected Lula’s initiative.
At the same time, Western countries expressed the opinion that Lula da Silva does not take a neutral position. This, they believe, may be evidenced by the fact that Brazil, for some reason, has not refused to sell weapons to a country at war with Israel and America like Yemen. A large number of Brazilian weapons, including internationally banned cluster munitions, were also supplied to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.,
As for Ukraine, the Brazilian side refuses it, although, according to Sandro Teixeira Moita, an expert at the Brazilian Armed Forces Command and Staff College, the Brazilians have weapons systems that are more suitable for the Ukrainian army compared to Western weapons. We are talking, in particular, about efficient and easy-to-use Embraer military aircraft and air defense systems, which are so much needed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In this regard, European states, which reacted very violently to the recent statements by the Brazilian president about the need for Kiev to recognize the Russian affiliation of Crimea, accused Lula of inconsistency in his foreign policy course, which, according to Brussels, should be, if not neutral, then at least more balanced. Brussels and Kiev claim that Lula da Silva “violated the principles of democracy” in favor of selfish political (Brasilia closely cooperates with Moscow on many international platforms) and economic (Brazil is heavily dependent on Russia for critical imports) interests.
American military expert Andres Gannon agrees with this opinion. He believes that Brazil does not want to risk its good relations with Russia. For example, as one of the world’s largest food producers, Brazil buys a quarter of fertilizers from Russia and imports large amounts of Russian energy. Moscow’s voice is very important for Brazil and in the UN Security Council, to which it has long aspired to become a permanent member and therefore supports all initiatives of the Russian Federation.
A similar point of view is shared by Bruna Santos, director of the Woodrow Wilson Center for Brazilian Studies (Washington). In her opinion, in order for Lula da Silva to be perceived in the world as an impartial mediator in the settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, he should have visited both sides. And he only visited Moscow, continuing to avoid a visit to Kiev.
Indeed, Lula da Silva refused to meet with Zelensky at least six times. In particular, the president of Ukraine wanted to meet with his Brazilian counterpart on his way to Argentina for the inauguration of President Javier Miley, but he was refused, despite the fact that Zelensky’s plane landed on Brazilian territory for refueling. Lula avoided contacts both at the pope’s funeral in the Vatican and on his way to Moscow to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Victory over Nazi Germany (Zelensky once again vainly asked Lula da Silva to make a stop in Kiev).
Moreover, against the background of the general cooling of Brazilian diplomacy towards Kiev, Lula da Silva said in an interview with Time the other day: “I watch Western parliamentarians standing applauding the president of Ukraine, but this guy is also guilty of starting an armed conflict.” And commenting on the scandal earlier during a meeting between Donald Trump and Zelensky at the White House, the Brazilian president noted that although his Ukrainian counterpart was humiliated, he deserved such a reaction from the American leader.