Lula backs down after harsh US backlash and denounces Ukraine’s ‘territorial violation’

The harsh reaction of the US government and allies to Lula da Silva’s Russian-sympathetic statements has forced the Brazilian president to return to a more moderate tone regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Lula showed a new tone during the reception in Brasilia of Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis.

Lula said the Brazilian government condemns Ukraine’s “territorial violation” without explicitly mentioning Russia, and advocates a “consensual and peaceful solution” to the war that followed Russia’s invasion. He then repeated the suggestion, which he had made almost daily, hitherto without much success, that a group of countries not directly involved in the conflict be formed to propose an end to the war, and which he would lead.

Lula’s tactical retreat came a day after the US classified it as “troubled” and went so far as to say that the veteran ruler was behaving like a parrot, echoing Russia’s narratives. During his trip to China and the United Arab Emirates last week, the Brazilian president was much more radical than he promised to be during the presidential campaign, accusing Ukraine of being as responsible as Russia for the military invasion it suffered and blaming the US and the European Union as the instigators of the war.

As if that weren’t enough, Lula welcomed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Brasilia, who, after several meetings with the Brazilian authorities, said that Russia and Brazil “have the same vision.” about the conflict in Ukraine. The White House, the seat of the US government, issued a statement saying that Lula’s position and tone on the invasion of Ukraine is not something neutral, as Brazil claims, and President Joe Biden sent his bodyguard Jack Sullivan by phone to Brasilia. where he spoke with Celso Amorim, special adviser to the President of Brazil for international affairs.