President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) highlighted the differences between Brazilian foreign policy and the positions of the great Western powers in his speech during the expanded G7 summit, in the Puglia region, in Italy.
Lula said that Russia’s participation in any type of negotiation is necessary to end the war in Ukraine and also criticized Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip, without mentioning the name of the country.
“Brazil firmly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It is already clear that neither party will be able to achieve all its objectives through military means”, he pointed out.
“Only an international conference that is recognized by [duas] parties, along the lines of the proposal from Brazil and China, will make peace possible”, stated the Brazilian leader.
The statements were made directly to the G7 leaders, at the same table as authorities such as the President of the United States, Joe Biden; the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni; the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak – all strong supporters of Ukraine and working to isolate Russia.
Some of the G7 leaders are even going from Italy to Switzerland to participate, this weekend, in the Peace Summit for Ukraine, organized by the Swiss government with Ukrainian support. However, there was no invitation for Russia to participate in the meeting.
President Lula himself was invited to the event, but refused, claiming that no summit will be able to reach peace without the involvement of the Russians at the negotiating table.
This position is interpreted by the West as tacit support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Lula criticizes Israel’s actions in Gaza
Regarding the war in the Gaza Strip, Lula once again criticized Israel’s actions.
“In Gaza, we see the legitimate right of defense transforming into the right of revenge. We are faced with the daily violation of humanitarian law, which has victimized thousands of innocent civilians, especially women and children. This led us to endorse South Africa’s decision to approach the International Court of Justice,” said the president.
Previously, the Brazilian leader had already criticized Israeli military actions, calling them genocide and even drawing a parallel between them and the Holocaust – which generated a lot of criticism from Western countries and the opposition in Brazil.
Demand for reform of the global governance system
In front of the leaders of three countries that have the right to veto in the UN Security Council (United States, France and the United Kingdom), the president stated that “governance institutions are inoperative in the face of the current geopolitical reality and perpetuate privileges”.
As anticipated by himself, Lula also asked the G7, BRICS and G20 countries to support proposals for taxing the super-rich and for the creation of international regulation for the use of artificial intelligence.
“We are interested in safe, transparent and emancipatory AI. That respects human rights, protects personal data and promotes the integrity of information. That enhances the capabilities of States to adopt public policies for the environment and that contributes to the energy transition,” she highlighted.
“An AI that also has the face of the Global South, that strengthens cultural and linguistic diversity and that develops the digital economy of our countries. And, above all, AI as a tool for peace, not war”, he added.
“We need international and intergovernmental governance of artificial intelligence, in which all States have a seat,” he said.
Source: CNN Brasil
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