(Rio de Janeiro) Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro confirmed on Saturday that he was maintaining his visit to Russia where he is expected on Tuesday, despite extreme tensions around Ukraine where the United States says it fears an imminent Russian invasion.
Posted at 4:38 p.m.
Washington has exerted pressure, according to various analysts, for the Brazilian to cancel this visit, officially centered on the promotion of bilateral trade relations, while a war threatens in Europe.
But while phone calls intended to make diplomacy prevail multiplied on Saturday between Western leaders and Russia without lowering the tension, Jair Bolsonaro relied on God.
“We ask God for peace in the world for the good of all of us,” Bolsonaro said after an interview on local radio, while confirming his visit to Russia, scheduled for Tuesday to Thursday.
“I was invited by (Russian) President Vladimir Putin”, explained the far-right head of state, quoted by the Uol news site, “Brazil depends largely on fertilizers from Russia” .
Russian-Brazilian trade is small, with trade of $7.29 billion in 2021. But fertilizers account for around 60% of Russian exports, and they are essential for the big global agricultural producer and exporter that is Brazil.
Jair Bolsonaro added that his delegation would include “a group of ministers to discuss other issues of interest to our countries, such as energy, defense, and agriculture”.
Brazil continues to advocate “dialogue” in the Russian-Western crisis and has been careful not to take sides and only address bilateral issues during this visit.
But the United States in particular fears that it will be perceived as a sign of support for the Russian president.
In a balancing act, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs celebrated Friday the 30and anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Ukraine, recalling in a press release the “multiple high-level contacts” since Brazil “recognized the independence of Ukraine” in 1991.