Brazil is facing a backlash from western nations and Ukraine after president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva claimed Kyiv bore responsibility for the war there and accused Washington of “encouraging” the conflict.
Brazil this week rolled out the red carpet for Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov after Lula said at the weekend that the “decision for war [in Ukraine] was taken by both countries” and that Europe and the US were partly responsible for prolonging the conflict.
The comments, made in the United Arab Emirates, drew a rebuke from Ukraine, which on Tuesday invited Lula to visit the country to understand “the true causes of Russian aggression and its consequences for global security”.