In South Africa, Brazil’s foreign minister greets Lavrov: “I’ve missed you”

During a gathering of foreign ministers from BRICS countries, Brazil’s Mauro Vieira on Friday held a bilateral meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Cape Town. The pair discussed negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. 

The Brazilian government, notably President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is being pulled in different directions regarding the conflict in Eastern Europe. After meeting with the Finnish president in Brasília, Lula “reiterated Brazil’s position defending Ukraine’s territorial integrity and condemning the invasion,” apparently testing out a more pro-Ukraine stance on the war.

On several occasions this year, Lula has echoed Russian arguments vis-a-vis the war in Ukraine, which has attracted criticism at home and abroad.

In South Africa on Friday afternoon, Mr. Vieira quipped that he had “missed” Mr. Lavrov. The pair met in mid-April, when Mr. Lavrov visited Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua. He expressed his gratitude to the Brazilian government for its “contribution to the solution” of the Ukraine war. 

BRICS foreign ministers have been gathered in Cape Town this week, where they have faced persistent questions about whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will be able to attend the planned BRICS leaders summit in Johannesburg in August.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has issued an arrest warrant against Mr. Putin. As a member of the ICC, South Africa would be obliged to apprehend the Russian president if he were to attend the summit.

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