The ambassador of the European Union in Brazil, Ignacio Ybáñez, declared, this Tuesday (18), in an interview with CNN that Ukraine’s invitation to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) to visit the country to learn about the “real reasons” for the war is very useful.
“This invitation from Ukraine, which I insist is the country under attack, for President Lula to be able to visit, is without a doubt very useful. It is also important to keep all channels of dialogue open. Since the beginning of President Lula’s term, many senior officials, presidents, commissioners, vice-presidents of the European Commission have traveled to Brazil”, said Ybáñez.
“We have been in contact with the minister [Mauro] Vieira, conversations with President Lula. We want to have the President of the European Commission visit in the near future. So I think dialogue is very important. We have to maintain that relationship. When you have a strategic partner as is the case with Brazil and the European Union, we have to be talking permanently”, he continued.
In a statement released on social media, the spokesman for Ukrainian diplomacy, Oleg Nikolenko, stressed that the “approach that puts a victim [Ucrânia] and aggressor [Rússia] on the same scale does not correspond to the real situation” of the conflict in Eastern Europe.
The speech comes after Lula stated in a press conference in the United Arab Emirates last Sunday (16) that “the construction of the war was easier than the exit from the war will be. Because the war decision was taken by two countries”.
He assessed that peace is the best way to establish a conversation process, but “the way things are, peace is very difficult”. Still defending the talks, he assessed that it is also necessary to involve the United States and the European Union.
The Brazilian Chief Executive also pondered that “President Putin does not take peace initiatives. Zelensky does not take peace initiatives. Europe and the United States end up contributing to the continuation of this war”.
On Monday (17), the US and the European Union countered the PT’s statements. The White House National Security spokesman, John Kirby, then pointed out that the Brazilian head of state “is reproducing Russian and Chinese propaganda” and that the comments were “simply wrong”.
Peter Stano, Chief Spokesperson for External Affairs of the European Union, highlighted that “the United States and the European Union work together as partners in international aid. We are helping Ukraine with self-defence exercises.”
“It is not true that the US and the EU are helping to prolong the conflict. We offer Russia numerous possibilities for a negotiated settlement on civilized terms,” added Stano.
Read the full statement published by the Ukrainian spokesperson below:
“Ukraine is watching with interest the efforts of the president of Brazil to find a solution to end the war.
At the same time, the approach that places the victim and the aggressor on the same scale, and the countries that help Ukraine to defend itself against deadly aggressions, are accused of encouraging war, does not correspond to the real situation.
Ukraine does not need to be convinced of anything. The war of aggression is being waged on Ukrainian soil and is causing untold suffering and destruction. More than anyone else in the world, we seek an end to Russian aggression based on the Formula of Peace proposed by President Zelensky.
We confirm the invitation to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to visit Ukraine in order to understand the real reasons and essence of Russian aggression and its consequences for global security.”
new statement
In a meeting with the president of Romania, Klaus Werner Iohannis, this Tuesday, Lula condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“While my government condemns the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, we advocate a negotiated political solution to the conflict,” he said in his speech.
He said that he listened with interest to the Romanian president’s considerations on the war in Ukraine, a country with which Romania shares a border. And that they talked about concerns about “the effects of the war, which go beyond the European continent”.
“I reiterated my concern about the global consequences of this conflict in terms of food and energy security, especially on the poorest regions of the planet,” said Lula.
He also reiterated the importance of a group of countries that can mediate discussions on peace between Russia and Ukraine and the reform of the UN Security Council to include developing countries.
Source: CNN Brasil
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