Rogério Cirino – BSB Times
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, arrives in Brasília this Monday (17th) to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine and bilateral trade with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira. The trip was scheduled for weeks and takes place one day after the arrival of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) from his visit to China and the United Arab Emirates.
This is Lavrov’s first visit to Brazil since 2019 and the discussions will take place behind closed doors at the Itamaraty Palace. However, Lula’s alignment with China has generated negative reactions from the American press, which has manifested itself on the ex-president’s speech in relation to American financing of the conflict in Ukraine.
During the visit to China, Lula said that the United States needs to stop “encouraging” the war conflict and that the war decision was taken by two countries. The statement generated repercussions and the former president also stated that he still intends to create a “G20” to seek a solution to the conflict.
Meanwhile, Lavrov’s mission is to defend what Russia calls a special operation, not an invasion of foreign territory. As one of the five nations with veto power, Russia assumed the presidency of the Security Council of the United Nations (UN) at the end of March.
According to the Itamaraty, the ministers are going to discuss the potential of the strategic partnership between Brazil and Russia and the prospects for cooperation in areas of common interest, such as trade, science and technology, environment, energy and defense. It is worth mentioning that Russia is the main supplier of fertilizers to Brazil and bilateral trade reached a historic record of US$ 9.8 billion in 2022.
