President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) condemned this Tuesday (18) the "violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity", but without making a nominal criticism of Russia, the country that started the war in Eastern Europe.
The declaration was made one day after Lula received the Russian Foreign Minister, Serguei Lavrov. The visit and recent statements by the Brazilian president that Ukraine and Russia are equally responsible for the war triggered an international reaction against the PT member by the US and the European Union.
"At the same time that my government condemns the violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity, we defend a negotiated political solution. I spoke of our concern with the effects of the war, which go beyond the European continent", said Lula after meeting with the president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis.
The Brazilian leader stressed that Romania has more than 600 kilometers of border with Ukraine and said he had reiterated to Iohannis his "concern with the global consequences of this conflict in terms of food and energy security, especially in the poorest regions of the planet".
Translated by Cassy Dias