2023-04-21 15:36:20
LISBON (AP) — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva arrived in Portugal on Friday amid rising tensions with the European Union over his stance on the war in Ukraine following he suggested the country was invaded and the West They share responsibility for the conflict.
Lula tweeted images of his arrival in Lisbon showing him walking down a red carpet accompanied by his wife, Rosangela.
Lula said last weekend during a tour of the United Arab Emirates and China that both Ukraine and Russia had decided to go to war, and that the United States was “fomenting” the fight.
Earlier this month, Lula upset Ukraine, the United States and the EU when he proposed that Ukraine cede Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, to end the ongoing conflict.
Lula also welcomed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Brasilia on Monday. The next day, Lula condemned the “violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity” while pushing his proposal that a club of nations, including Brazil, mediate a peaceful solution to the war.
Lula’s visit to Portugal is an opportunity to make up for some of the damage his comments caused to relations between Brazil and the EU, said Guilherme Casarões, a political scientist at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a think tank and university in Sao Paulo.
“It might be an important step for Lula to show that he really wants to adopt a balanced or equidistant position between the parties involved in the conflict, which might allow Brazil to play the role of mediator in the medium term,” Casarões said.
Lula is scheduled to meet with the president and prime minister of Portugal this weekend and attend the summit between the two countries with various ministers.
He is also scheduled to attend the award ceremony for Brazilian musician and writer Chico Buarque on Monday.
Lula is scheduled to deliver a speech before the Portuguese Parliament on Tuesday, on the anniversary of the 1974 Carnation Revolution that ended half a century of authoritarian rule in Portugal.
Trade will also be high on the agenda, with Lula pushing for the implementation of an agreement between the European Union and the South American bloc Mercosur. It was signed in 2019 but has not yet entered into force as not all EU member nations and Mercosur have ratified the pact.
“Through this trip to Portugal, Lula seeks to get closer to the European Union itself,” added Casarões. “Portugal is an ally of Brazil within the European Union and can serve as a platform for Brazil to defend its position in the context of these negotiations.”
During the presidency of Lula’s predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, France and other EU members expressed concern that the deal might increase the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Lula, for his part, has tried to show that protecting the environment is a top priority of his government, vowing to end illegal deforestation by 2030.
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