Brazilian Foreign Minister Carlos França defended President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) for expressing solidarity with Russia days before the war in Ukraine and criticized the unilateral sanctions imposed on Moscow after the outbreak of the conflict.
The statements were made in a session of the Senate aimed at discussing the crisis in Eastern Europe. Asked about Bolsonaro’s trip, França said that the practice of Brazilian diplomacy is “to promote peace”. He also added that the visit had been very planned and that “the conditions were in place” for it to be carried out, particularly after the previous visit of Brazilian ministers to Moscow.
The minister also said that he had spoken with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmitro Kuleba, and that the latter had conveyed a “reassuring notion of the scenario”, indicating that there was no risk of imminent conflict. Vladimir Putin gave the order to invade Ukraine eight days after meeting Bolsonaro.
The chancellor also refuted criticism of the president, in particular made by the United States. “We do not consider it appropriate that any country can interpret the statements of our head of state”, argued France. “I understand that the idea of reliability, of solidarity, as the president said, has the sense of ground, firm, reliable, [mostra] Brazil as a reliable partner of Russia within the principles that we respect”.
For the minister, the economic sanctions applied against Russia are inappropriate. In his view, the consequences of the measures should protect, in the medium term, the developed countries and fall more on developing nations than on Russia itself.
“Brazil does not agree with the application of unilateral and selective sanctions. These measures, in addition to being illegal under international law, concretely preserve the urgent interests of some countries, such as the supply of oil and gas to European nations,” he said.
França added that he is trying to arrange a meeting with members of the US government to discuss the possibility of reducing sanctions that impact the marketing of fertilizers – essential for the development of Brazilian agribusiness.
Without mentioning specific measures, the minister said that the penalties constitute a dangerous threat to the international trading system, which could have an impact on the entire world’s economy. “The application of these selective sanctions by certain countries practically makes it impossible, in the short term, to make payments in export and import operations with Russia.”
France has also criticized actions aimed at expelling Moscow from international bodies. “Brazil has clearly been against these initiatives, in line with our traditional position in favor of multilateralism and international law, which must include all nations based on the principle of sovereign equality of countries”, he argued.
The federal government defends, according to the chancellor, that the United Nations (UN) is the appropriate forum for dealing with a peace agreement. Thus, the position of the Itamaraty would be consistent with Brazil’s history in the face of international conflicts.
“Brazil defends positions that correspond to our diplomatic tradition: immediate ceasefire; protection of civilians and civil infrastructure; unimpeded access to humanitarian services; and the prompt political solution of the issue, based on the Minsk Accords, accepted in 2015 by both parties in conflict today,” he said.
Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) participated in the session and lamented the effects that the war must have on Brazil. In his view, the country “will suffer from a lack of fertilizers, causing noise in a vital sector for the national economy: agriculture.”
The Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina, also participated in the meeting and expressed fear about the impacts that the conflict between the two countries will have on the Brazilian economy.
“Our concern is enormous with prices, with the price of fertilizers, of which Russia and Belarus are our great exporting partners. And today we have a concern with nitrogen and potassium products that Brazil needs so much for the its production”, he said.
