Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the presidential residence in Brasília on Thursday, after participating in the G20 ministerial meeting in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil’s federal government said in a statement that Mr. Lavrov reiterated Russia’s support for Brazil having a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, a longstanding Brazilian ambition that Russia has supported for several years.
Lula also confirmed that he will attend the BRICS summit to be held in Kazan, Russia, in October.
Lula also highlighted the record level of trade between the two countries in 2023. Recent data shows that Brazil became the largest importer of Russian diesel last year, with an increase in volume of more than 6,000 percent, following U.S. and European sanctions against Russia.
The statement adds that Mr. Lavrov “expressed Russia’s positions on the conflict in Ukraine,” and that Lula reiterated his position that “Brazil remains willing to collaborate” with efforts for peace.
Mr. Lavrov’s visit with Lula comes a day after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the Brazilian president at the presidential palace. As The Brazilian Report explained, the two governments came away with slightly different summaries of the meeting.
For example, the U.S. “thanked President Lula for Brazil’s participation in Ukraine’s Peace Formula process.” Although top international adviser Celso Amorim participated in talks with Ukraine and its allies, Brazil does not support the formula, which includes the unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops.
At least since early 2023, Lula has been talking about forming a so-called “peace club” — a group of countries that would mediate the Ukraine war. The think tank Institute for the Study of War has written that Russian statements expressing a willingness to negotiate are “part of an ongoing information operation intending to weaken Western willingness to aid Ukraine.”
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