Lula reaffirms in Portugal support for the negotiated solution for peace in Ukraine

search for peace

The president reaffirmed that Brazil condemned Russia for injuring the Ukrainian territorial integrity

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reiterated this Saturday (22) the Brazilian government’s support for the negotiated solution for peace in Ukraine, invaded by Russia for more than a year, in a statement to the press at the Belém Palace, in Lisbon. This Friday (21), Lula began his state trip to Portugal and Spain.

“While my government condemns the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, we support a negotiated political solution to the conflict. We urgently need to create a group of countries that try to sit at the table with both Ukraine and Russia to find peace”,

said Lula.

The president reaffirmed that Brazil condemned Russia for injuring the Ukrainian territorial integrity since the first days of the conflict. “We are not in favor of war, we want peace,” said Lula. “It’s better to find your way out around a table than to keep trying to find your way out on a battlefield. If you don’t talk about peace, you contribute to war”.

The Portuguese president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, highlighted the need for the immediate withdrawal of Russian armed forces from Ukrainian territory as a fundamental condition to be able to find reparation for the people who suffered the aggression, but also as a starting point for building peace. lasting.

Foreign trade

Lula also highlighted the potential of Portugal and Brazil to double the flow of foreign trade, currently around US$ 6 billion.

“We need to be bolder. And it is necessary that both our businessmen and our ministers talk more and project perspectives for the future in the financing of our industries and in the production of new products between the two countries”,

he said.

The Portuguese president reaffirmed his full support for the ratification of the free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union. Approved in 2019, after 20 years of negotiations, the Mercosur-EU agreement needs to be ratified by the parliaments of all countries of the two blocs to enter into force, a procedure that involves 31 countries. The agreement covers both tariff and regulatory issues, such as services, government procurement, trade facilitation, technical barriers, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and intellectual property.

official visit

Earlier, Lula attended the welcome ceremony at Praça do Império, in front of the Jerônimo Monastery, and the laying of flowers next to the tomb of the Portuguese poet Luís de Camões, inside the monastery. Afterwards, Lula had a bilateral meeting with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, at the Belém Palace.

Afterwards, there will be lunch hosted by Prime Minister Antônio Costa and, in the afternoon, the 13th Luso-Brazilian Summit will take place at the Centro Cultural de Belém, with the signing of bilateral agreements. Initially, the two heads of government have a private meeting, followed by a plenary meeting with the two delegations.

According to the Planalto Palace, at least 13 agreements and partnerships will be signed with the Portuguese government.

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