President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) said this Wednesday (20) that, in the Ukrainian War, he is on the “side of peace”. The statement, given to supporters in the playpen at Palácio do Alvorada, comes a day after Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky charged the Planalto chief for his position of neutrality in the conflict.
“I’m on the side of peace,” said the Brazilian president, who then reiterated that if he had a way to resolve the war unfolding in Eastern Europe, he would have resolved it.
Bolsonaro also said that, if he had depended on his surroundings, he would not have gone to Russia on the eve of the start of the conflict to discuss the fertilizer issue. Brazil imports most of the substances it uses, and Moscow is one of the main exporters — soy is the main consumer crop for the item.
The timing of the visit was poorly received by partners such as the US, which tried to dissuade the Brazilian government from the trip, arguing that the trip could represent support for the actions of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
In an interview with TV Globo shown on Tuesday night (19), the president of Ukraine directly criticized Bolsonaro’s stance on the conflict. “I do not support his position of neutrality. I do not believe that anyone can remain neutral when there is a war in the world,” Zelensky said.
Despite Bolsonaro’s neutral stance, Brazil has been critical of Moscow in international forums, such as the UN, since the beginning of the war, which began on February 24. The country condemned the Kremlin’s actions in General Assembly and Security Council resolutions — even though it abstained from the vote that suspended Russia from the Human Rights Council.
“Let’s think about World War II. Many leaders were neutral at first,” Zelensky said. “This allowed the fascists to swallow half of Europe and expand further and further, capturing all of Europe. This happened because of neutrality. No one can stand in the way.”
Bolsonaro did not mention to supporters details of the conversation he had with Zelensky on Monday. The day before, he told journalists that he would present the solution to the end of the conflict and made reference to the Falklands War, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in April and ended after Argentine forces surrendered to the British. It was unclear whether surrender was the suggestion he would make to the Ukrainian leader.
Zelensky, in turn, said he reinforced to Bolsonaro the importance of negotiations to unlock the country’s grain exports in order to “prevent the global food crisis caused by Russia”.
On Twitter, the Ukrainian posted a message in which he informed Bolsonaro about the situation at the front. “I call on all our partners to join the sanctions against the aggressor,” he wrote.
