In conversation in the Oval Room of the White House this Friday (10), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) intends to present to his American counterpart, Joe Biden, the proposal for a “peace club” to negotiate a way out of the conflict in Ukraine. The forum would include countries like India and China – and Lula should also propose the idea to the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, during his visit to Beijing, which will take place in March.
The PT wants to bring together a group of countries that, in the view of the Brazilian government, are not directly involved in the war to discuss a long-term perspective and a solution to the conflict. Brazil recognizes that Russia was an aggressor country when it invaded Ukraine, but it believes that imposing sanctions and sending weapons or ammunition will not help to achieve peace.
Brasilia considers that Beijing would be among these countries, even though the Chinese regime has not condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and has chosen to abstain from UN Security Council resolutions that condemned Moscow. Recently, the Chinese ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jung, said that the war is “the result of long-standing security imbalances in Europe” and that these imbalances need “a political solution”.
In the view of the Brazilian government, China is unavoidable in the peace negotiation. Other countries likely to be invited are India, which has not adhered to Western sanctions and increased its purchases of oil, coal and fertilizer from Russia, and Turkey, which brokered the deal for Ukraine to resume exporting grain.
The peace club proposed by Lula would be like negotiating a resolution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine, exemplifies one interlocutor: it could not have countries directly aligned with either party.
It is not clear how Biden will receive Lula’s proposal. Washington and Beijing have been experiencing a growing escalation of tensions for years, aggravated more recently by trade disputes, the US position in relation to Taiwan and even the Chinese balloon that the US shot down in its airspace.
This Wednesday (8), John Kirby, of the National Security Council of the White House, said that the war in Ukraine will be on the agenda of the conversation between the two presidents. While the US government articulates a new arms package for Kiev worth US$ 1.75 billion, the Brazilian maintains former president Jair Bolsonaro’s policy of avoiding more direct interference in the conflict and denied Germany’s request to send ammunition to tanks on the Ukrainian side.
Asked by Sheet if Lula’s neutrality bothers Biden, Kirby stated that “these are sovereign decisions that nations need to make, and we respect that”, before making the government’s position clear. “I can only speak for us [EUA]. We don’t believe it’s time for ‘business as usual’ [agir de modo habitual]”, he stated while describing the war as “utterly despicable”.
Lula had already launched the idea of a peace club after meeting with the German premier, Olaf Scholz, on January 30, in Brasília. At the time, he said that Brazil is not interested in sending ammunition to Ukraine because it does not want to have any participation in the conflict, even if indirectly.
“We have to create another body, in the same way we created the G20 when the crisis occurred [econômica] of 2008”, said Lula in a press conference. “We try to create, we create an ecological club and we create a club of people who will want to build peace on the planet.” The president said that Beijing could play an important role “It’s time for China to get its hands dirty and try to help find peace between Russia and Ukraine.”
The Chancellor of France, who went to Brasília this Wednesday (8) on a preparatory trip for the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron, showed divergence in relation to the Brazilian approach to the war. “Let me be very clear: there is a country that has been attacked, Ukraine, and an aggressor, Russia. By waging an illegal war against a sovereign and independent country, Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, deliberately violated the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. By deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, Russia is committing war crimes. It is our responsibility to ensure that these crimes do not go unpunished,” he told Sheet.
Lula arrives in Washington this Friday, accompanied by ministers Mauro Vieira (Foreign Relations), Fernando Haddad (Finance), Marina Silva (Environment) and Anielle Franco (Racial Equality), as well as special advisor Celso Amorim. Also traveling are the secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development Marcio Elias Rosa and Senator Jaques Wagner.
He will stay at Blair House, the US government residence opposite the White House where foreign heads of state stay. The Brazilian stated that he preferred to stay in a hotel, but security issues were taken into account, due to the aggressiveness of some Bolsonaro supporters and the possibility of demonstrations. At Blair House, the security scheme does not allow any type of non-peaceful protest, and access to the square where the residence is located is usually restricted during the visit of foreign delegations.
At the site, the PT party will receive US Senator Bernie Sanders in the morning and will meet with Democratic Party deputies soon after. In the afternoon, he participates in a meeting with representatives of the AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations), the largest union in the country. Afterwards, he will be received by Biden at the White House. He returns to Brazil on Saturday (11).
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
