Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says the US must stop “encouraging” war in Ukraine. The remarks, carried in multiple media outlets, were made on the final day of his visit to China.
Addressing reporters in Beijing on Saturday, the Brazilian leader, reportedly added that Washington and the EU needed to “start talking about peace so that we can convince Putin and Zelensky that peace is in the interest of everyone and that war is only interesting, for now, to the two of them”.
Washington has sent more than US$68 billion in arms and aid to Kyiv, leading critics to accuse it of waging a proxy war against Moscow.
In a joint statement issued Friday, Beijing and Brasilia called on more countries to join the push for a negotiated settlement to the Ukraine conflict.
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The communiqué reflected a growing strategic alignment between the biggest developing countries in the Eastern and Western hemispheres. In addition to finding common geopolitical ground, Lula and his counterpart President Xi Jinping struck multiple trade deals, with 15 economic agreements signed during Lula’s four-day trip.
Notably, the two sides have struck a deal to handle their massive two-way trade using their own currencies instead of the US dollar.“Every night I ask myself why all countries have to base their trade on the dollar”, Lula asked during a visit to the New Development Bank in Shanghai. “Why can’t we do trade based on our own currencies?”
