US needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace: Brazilian Pres Lula

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made a statement on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the involvement of the US, during his visit to China, as per CNN reports. The Brazilian president stated that the United States should stop “encouraging” the war in Ukraine. “The United States needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace; the European Union needs to start talking about peace so that we can convince Putin and Zelenskyy that peace is in the interest of everyone and that war is only interesting, for now, to the two of them,” said Lula in Beijing, while addressing the press briefing. 

Brazil and China's relationship 

While talking about the current ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, he revealed, during his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, that they discussed forming a group of like-minded leaders in Ukraine. Lula said, " I have a theory that I have already defended with Macron, with Olaf Scholz of Germany, and with Biden, and yesterday, we discussed at length with Xi Jinping. It is necessary to constitute a group of countries willing to find a way to make peace." This is not the first time that the Brazilian president has blatantly blamed the US. During the visit to China, he also asked the developing nations should move away from the US dollar. Lula has been in Bejing since Friday and has focused on resetting the China-Brazil relationship, which saw tense moments under former leader Jair Bolsonaro.

According to multiple media reports, both the US and EU have been major suppliers of arms and aid to Ukraine to push back Russia’s invasion. Notably, as per Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy peace talks are off the table as long as Russian President Vladimir Putin remains in power. It is to be noted that the Russian-Ukraine war is more of a diplomatic conversation in Europe and in Washington, however, Lula's visit to China has aimed to boost trade, how Chinese investment can help Brazil’s economy get back on track, and the potentially lucrative universe of carbon credits reported CNN.