Brazil’s president claimed on Sunday that he and China had discussed cooperative mediation for Russia’s war in Ukraine, accusing the US and Europe of prolonging the crisis.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was on an official tour to China and the UAE after being re-elected for a third term, suggested the two countries, along with others, should form a “political G20” to try to stop the war.
The veteran socialist, who has been accused of being unduly friendly with Russian President Vladimir Putin, also stated that the war was caused by “decisions made by two countries.”
“President Putin doesn’t take any initiatives to stop the war. (President Volodymyr) Zelensky from Ukraine doesn’t take any initiatives to stop the war,” Lula, speaking through an official translator, told reporters in Abu Dhabi.
“Europe and the US continue to give their way of contribution to continue the war. So they have to sit around the table and say, ‘That’s enough’.”
While in China, Lula accused Washington of “encouraging” the conflict by supplying Ukraine with weaponry.
He also slammed the dollar’s dominance in global trade, advocating for the creation of a new currency for transactions between the BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
