Brazil opposes a new declaration of support for Ukraine

Even before it started, the CELAC-European Union summit, which starts on Sunday, has generated friction between the 60 countries that should participate in the meeting. This is because one point of the joint declaration, which is already under negotiation and must be signed by the nations present, did not please everyone. Some Latin American countries, including Brazil, objected to the point in the document declaring full support for Ukraine.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) will travel to Belgium on Sunday to attend the summit. The purpose of the meeting is to close agreements between countries in Europe and Latin America.

“We emphasize that the declaration should mainly include bi-regional issues. It is not a meeting to discuss the whole world, it is a meeting of two regions with common themes and interests. These themes and interests must participate”, said Ambassador Gisela Padovan, Secretary of America Latin America and the Caribbean, from Itamaraty, on the document’s support for Ukraine.

The positioning is part of an effort by Lula to flatter Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The Brazilian president has been trying to get closer to the authoritarian regimes in Russia and China since the beginning of his term. As a “prize”, Brazil has received discounts on the purchase of diesel oil, but is chasing away investments in its defense industrial base.

The European Union has provided a high level of humanitarian, financial and military assistance that has been essential for Ukraine to resist the Russian invasion. In February 2022, over 200,000 Kremlin troops invaded Ukraine from multiple directions but failed to overthrow the country’s government.

Moscow found itself diplomatically isolated and launched a campaign to try to “buy” new allies among developing countries with offers of cheap oil and promises of arms sales that are unlikely to be realized. In the focus of these attacks, which include internet advertising actions, are countries in Latin America and Africa.

This Friday (14), representatives of the 60 countries should arrive at a final proposal for this document. Due to the discomfort caused, however, the text should deal with less incisive themes. Itamaraty also informed that the text will be smaller than expected.

“The draft declaration is still being negotiated. It was a bigger project, there was a difficulty of consensus and the text decreased. There will be a final negotiating session around common principles and specific themes. It will be a shorter declaration than initially proposed”, clarified Padovan.