Brasilia/Washington. The government of Brazil has refused that closing statement of the so-called “Summit for Democracy”, in which the participating countries condemned Russia’s actions against Ukraine.
Citing diplomatic sources reported the online edition of the Brazilian newspaper O Globo that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva “does not agree with the use of the forum to punish Moscow”.
Hosted by US President Joe Biden for the third year in a row, the virtual event ended last Thursday.
The website Brasil 247 wrote that countries in the region, including Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, are “as usual excluded from events of this nature organized by Washington.”
According to O Globo, Lula, who did not attend due to health reasons, stated in a letter to the summit that he is opposed to the political instrumentalization of debates on democracy.
“We are living at a time when a new Cold War is looming and armed conflict is inevitable. We all know what World War I devoured in defense spending at the expense of social investment,” Lula said in the letter.
He stated that “the banner of defending democracy must not be used to erect walls or create divisions. Defending democracy means fighting for peace. Political dialogue is the best way to reach consensus.” , it says in the text that the daily newspaper says it has.
Lula’s letter goes on to say that “democratic institutions must be able to withstand violent attacks, disinformation campaigns and hate speech, which often make use of social media. We face a civilizational challenge, just like overcoming wars, of the climate crisis, hunger and inequality on the planet”.
A part of the final statement, which Brazil did not join, describes the humanitarian consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the complex negative effects of the war. Directly referring to the Russian President Vladimir Putin, there are calls for him to be held accountable for “the most serious crimes” against international law.
Other countries such as India signed the summit’s final declaration, but with reservations on the points that mention the Ukraine war.
Most recently, on February 25, Lula again pushed for negotiations to end the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine: “At a time when humanity needs peace in the face of so many challenges, the war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for a year. There is an urgent need for a group of countries not involved in the conflict to take responsibility for negotiations to restore peace.”
In January, he emphasized Brazil’s neutral position in the military conflict and refused to supply Ukraine with ammunition for the Leopard-1 tank, as requested by European states (america21 reported).
“Brazil has no interest in the transfer of munitions used in the dispute between Ukraine and Russia. Brazil is a country of peace. Brazil does not want to be involved in any way, even indirectly,” said Lula, who deals with Chancellor Olaf Scholz met in the Planalto Presidential Palace.
He suggested to Scholz the creation of a multilateral mechanism that could broker a peace deal in the conflict.