Bolsonaro was a little excessive in words when saluting Putin, says professor

Before the meeting between Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and Russian President Vladimir Putin this Wednesday morning (16), ESPM International Relations professor Leonardo Trevisan said, in an interview with CNNthat the visit of the Brazilian delegation to Russia takes place at a time of “absolutely dangerous terrain”.

In his opinion, “any diplomatic slip-up can be taken to the ultimate consequences to the detriment of Brazilian interests”. Trevisan considered that Bolsonaro was “a little excessive in words” when he greeted Putin in the morning, when he said “to lend our solidarity to Russia”.

“This message is clear, dangerously clear,” said the professor. According to him, after the demonstration and the joint statement by the two leaders, Bolsonaro tried to fix his words “by reducing tension and saying that solidarity was for all countries”.

Trevisan evaluated the order of national interests that the Brazilian president placed in the conversation with Putin: defense in first place, gas in second and only fertilizers in third place.

“We are facing a situation in which signs of rapprochement are actually accumulating that are not well received throughout the West”, warned the professor.

According to Trevisan, “it is evident that Brazil should be careful with its words in a moment of such tension”.

In the professor’s assessment, the crisis in Eastern Europe will lead to other discussions led by Putin, which mainly aim to establish secure borders for Russia in regions such as Ukraine, Georgia and Belarus.

Trevisan still considers that the crisis has eased, but that there will be a second phase of talks “where we will think about the next day in this process”.

*Supervised by Layane Serrano