To foreign journalists, president says Security Council does not take responsibility because its permanent members “are the ones who foment” conflicts. Petista also spoke about BRICS, Amazon and Africa.
(DW) President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) criticized on Wednesday (02/08) the United Nations Security Council (UN) for failing to prevent the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and not assume “all its responsibility” in the conflict.
The president claimed that the body does not adopt this stance because its “permanent members” – China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Russia – “are those who foment wars” and “believe that the war will only end when one of the parties imposes itself” on the other by military means.
“This war, if it had been discussed in the UN Security Council, if it had been taken seriously, and if the UN Security Council behaved as a global governance, which respected the collective of the world’s countries, we might have come to the conclusion that we don’t have to have war. Russia does not have to invade Ukraine,” he told foreign journalists gathered at the Planalto Palace.
Citing the growing tension in the Middle East, he said the world “needs a new global governance” – Brazil has long aspired to a seat on the Security Council, and the new government has sought to strengthen alternative multilateral forums to Western hegemony, such as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) and the G20.
“Today almost all [countries] are investing in weapons,” he criticized. “We don’t know how much they are investing to end hunger and misery in the world.”
Non-involvement in war is biggest contribution to peace in Ukraine, says Lula
Lula once again defended Brazilian neutrality as a solution for peace in Ukraine, highlighting non-involvement in the war as the greatest contribution in this sense – Brazil has condemned the Russian invasion in UN resolutions, but has refused to go beyond that by providing, for example, weapons to Kiev or endorsing tougher measures against Moscow. In the past, Lula’s gestures have also raised doubts about a possible pro-Kremlin bias in Brazilian foreign policy.
Lula, however, says he sees unwillingness on both the Russian and Ukrainian sides to negotiate peace.
The large-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched by Russia in February last year in violation of international law, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
At Ukraine’s request, Western countries have supported the country militarily and imposed political and economic sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime to pressure it to leave Ukrainian territory.
Lula advocates more countries in BRICS
Lula also favored the entry of new members into BRICS – citing Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Argentina by name – said the group should be more generous than the International Monetary Fund in supporting the development of poorer countries, and again advocated a currency of its own for trade in the bloc.
“Why does Brazil need dollars to trade with China? We can do it in our currency. Why does Brazil need dollars to trade with Argentina? We can do it in our currencies.”
The BRICS will hold its summit from August 22-24 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The meeting is expected to take place against a backdrop where China and Russia, discredited by the West, are trying to expand their zone of political and economic influence over developing countries. Putin, who is the target of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, is expected to attend the event only digitally.
About 20 countries have made formal requests to join BRICS, according to Itamaraty. According to Lula, it is possible that a decision will be made in Johannesburg on which new countries can join the bloc – a scenario, however, that some Brazilian diplomats see as worrying given the risk of Brazil losing influence in the forum, the Reuters news agency reported.
Joint political action among Amazon countries
Lula also announced plans to sign a joint document by the eight presidents of the region’s countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela, during the Amazon Summit to be held on August 8-9 in Belém, Pará.
It will be the first time since 2009 that the group has met to discuss policies for the Amazon region.
The joint document is to be taken to COP28 in the United Arab Emirates in November to lobby for international funding to protect the biome.
“We have to produce for the first time an idea that the world needs not only to admire, but to help,” he said. “The world must help us preserve the Amazon and develop it.”
Lula also pledged to support African countries in areas such as education, agriculture and technology – citing, specifically, university places, sharing of agricultural knowledge and support in the production of medicines.
In the second half of August, the president is also due to visit Sao Tome and Principe and Angola in addition to South Africa.
ra (Lusa, EFE, AP, AFP)