Brazilian president says after listening to Ukrainian’s speech he continues with ‘same position he had before’ on war

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky did not show up for the bilateral meeting with him at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. And he also said he maintained the same position on the war in Eastern Europe after listening to the Ukrainian at the event. The statement was made after the event ended at a press conference on Sunday.

“We had a bilateral talk with Ukraine at 3 p.m. [horário local]. We got information that they were late, and in the meantime I attended the President of Vietnam. When the president of Vietnam left, Ukraine did not show up. He certainly had another commitment and couldn’t come here. That’s exactly what happened,” he said.

“I listened carefully to Zelensky’s speech at the meeting. He certainly listened carefully to my speech at the meeting. And I continue with the same position as before. I am trying, with other countries, with India, China, Indonesia and other countries, to build a bloc to try to build a policy of peace in the world. The world does not need war. The world needs peace, tranquility, so that the world can grow again to distribute wealth to the poor,” Lula said.

The president also said he was “saddened and disappointed” that the meeting with Zelensky did not take place. “I would like to meet him and discuss it. Zelensky is an adult, he knows what he is doing”. “But there will be opportunities for us. When I see that they want to negotiate, I will be ready,” he concluded.

Lula also pointed out that he had ten bilateral meetings with heads of state and four others with Japanese businessmen who own large companies.

Criticism of the Security Council

“I demand changes from the UN Security Council [Organização das Nações Unidas]. Let more countries from Latin America, Africa, than Japan, Germany, India, more important countries enter. The UN of 1945 no longer exists. It was created to keep peace in the world, but it no longer has the authority to keep peace in the world because it is the members of the Security Council who wage war,” criticized the Brazilian president.

“If the Council [de Segurança da ONU] functioned as it should, there might not be a war between Ukraine and Russia,” he added. “You need a serious institution, which has weight, strength and political authority to make decisions that will be fulfilled.” “There is a group of countries in the South who want peace. The North does not want peace”.

Environment and climate

The Brazilian president also highlighted the country’s commitments on the climate issue. And he stressed the “moral and political authority” of Brazil to discuss the issue at the international level.

Lula again urged rich countries to keep their funding pledges for environmental preservation: “There is still a long way to go for the 100 billion dollars they have promised. But, anyway, Brazil will do what it has to do on its own. Preserving the Amazon is the duty and responsibility of the Brazilian people. This is what Brazil can offer the world, the peace of mind that our Amazon will not die out. Anyone who wants to cut down trees, plant a forest and cut down what they want, but the Amazon forest does not belong to anyone. It belongs to the people and the planet, although it is the sovereign territory of our country.

Lula and the G7 summit

The G7 is made up of the seven most industrialized countries in the world: Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. Eight other invited nations also participated in the meeting: Brazil, Australia, Comoros, Cook Islands, India, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam.

It was the seventh time that Lula had taken part as a guest at a G7 meeting. The president was invited back to the G7 after 14 years. The country was invited to the meetings six times between 2003 and 2009, under the first PT governments.

The federal government says Lula’s visit to the group’s meeting marks “the resumption of Brazil’s engagement with the G7 and consolidates the perception of balance in the country’s position on sensitive issues in the international arena.”