President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) said this Sunday (27) that Brazil’s position on the war between Russia and Ukraine must be one of “balance”, after recalling that “for us, the fertilizer issue is sacred”.
Brazil imports more than 80% of the fertilizers used in agricultural production, and has a commercial partnership with the Russians, one of the largest producers of the input in the world.
“For us, the fertilizer issue is sacred. And our position, as agreed with the minister [das Relações Exteriores] Carlos França, as well as Mr Ronaldo [Costa Filho, embaixador do Brasil na ONU] who represents us in the Council, is one of balance. And we cannot, by interfering, although we want peace, we have a very large colony of Ukrainians in Brazil, but we cannot bring consequences here”, said the president.
Bolsonaro also said that “we are not going to take sides, we are going to continue with neutrality and help in whatever way possible in search of a solution”said Bolsonaro.
According to Bolsonaro, it is necessary to have “a lot of responsibility, because we have special deals with Russia, Brazil depends on fertilizers”.
“I was just talking to the president [Vladimir] Putin, more than two hours of conversation, we deal with a lot. The issue of fertilizers is one of the most important. We dealt with our trade and obviously he said something about Ukraine, which I reserve, as a secret, not to go into the details as you would like.”
The conversation with Putin that Bolsonaro refers to took place during the Brazilian president’s visit to Moscow 10 days ago, according to the Itamaraty.
The Chief Executive also claimed that the Brazilian position in the Security Council of the United Nations (UN) is free and is not linked to any world power.
At last Friday’s meeting (25), Brazil and ten other countries voted in favor of a resolution condemning the invasion of Ukrainian territory and calling for the withdrawal of troops. Russia was against and vetoed the measure. This Sunday, the country also favored an emergency meeting of the General Assembly to address the issue.
“Brazil is part of the UN Council, our seat is not permanent. A few days ago a resolution was voted, Brazil had an active participation in this resolution, if you know, there is no sanction or condemnation of President Putin. And that resolution, it seems, will be voted on again on Tuesday or Wednesday. I make it clear that Brazil’s vote is not defined or linked to any power, our vote is free and will be given in that direction..”
“For us, the fertilizer issue is sacred. And our position, as agreed with the minister [das Relações Exteriores] Carlos França, as well as Mr Ronaldo [Costa Filho, embaixador do Brasil na ONU] who represents us in the Council, is one of balance. And we cannot, by interfering, although we want peace, we have a very large colony of Ukrainians in Brazil, but we cannot bring consequences here.”
On a trip to Russia on February 17, Bolsonaro spoke alongside President Vladimir Putin. At the meeting, he said that he preaches peace and respects “those who act this way” and that he was in solidarity with the country.
The United States criticized Bolsonaro’s speech in Russia, saying that “the moment when the president of Brazil showed solidarity with Russia, when Russian forces prepare to launch attacks on Ukrainian cities, could not have been worse”, he told the newspaper. CNN a State Department spokesperson.
Bolsonaro said on February 24 that it would be his decision on Brazil’s stance on the war in Ukraine. “Who speaks for the country is the president and the president is called Jair Messias Bolsonaro. Anyone who has doubts about this just look for Article 84 [da Constituição Federal]. Whoever is saying this is talking about what is not his responsibility,” Bolsonaro said in a broadcast on social media.
The speech came after Vice President Hamilton Mourão (PRTB) declared that Western countries must use force in support of Ukrainians. “There has to be the use of force. Really more support for Ukraine than what is being put on. This is my vision”, said Mourão.
Source: CNN Brasil
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