Dutch prime minister will charge Lula for supporting Ukraine

The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, is going to demand from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), this Tuesday (9), a more emphatic position of support for Ukraine against attacks by Russia. The president has a meeting scheduled with Lula this afternoon at the Planalto Palace as part of an official visit to Brazil this week.

Rutte said he is going to explain to Lula why the issue of support for Ukraine is “existential” for the Netherlands and for Europe, since the Russian invasion has put Western values ​​at risk.

“We need to help Ukraine in this fight,” he said at a press conference this Monday (8), as reported by CNN Brasil.

The Dutch politician also said that “if Putin succeeds in Ukraine, and I don’t think he will, it won’t end there. People are worried about their own safety, in Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris and Europe.”

A joint statement by Rutte and Lula is scheduled to be released around 6 pm. The Brazilian president has adopted a more moderate stance against Russia after being heavily criticized for also blaming Ukraine for the invasion.

Lula was the target of protests from Ukrainians during his visit to Portugal, last month, which led him to summon his advisor for international relations, Celso Amorim, to schedule a visit to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, later this month.

According to the Planalto Palace, the Dutch entourage is formed by members of the government and businessmen and passes through São Paulo, Brasília and Ceará. The bilateral meeting with Lula will deal, in addition to what has already been mentioned by Rutte, on economic-commercial relations, investments for energy transition and bilateral technical cooperation.