For Bolsonaro, Putin’s support is better than no support

One week before the invasion of Ukraine, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro paid a visit to Vladimir Putin. The alleged purpose of the meeting was to strengthen bilateral trade relations between the countries, focusing particularly on the purchase of Russian fertilizers.

Analysts were appalled by the terrible timing of the trip and by Mr. Bolsonaro’s absolute lack of discernment.

It was indeed a diplomatic nightmare. “We are in solidarity with Russia,” Mr. Bolsonaro declared, rather robotically, sitting knee to knee with the man who had been threatening to invade a neighboring nation. “We very much want to collaborate in many areas — defense, oil and gas, agriculture.”

Right after the meeting, the U.S. State Department issued a strong rebuke of Mr. Bolsonaro’s “solidarity” statement, saying that the timing could not be worse. “It undermines international diplomacy directed at averting a strategic and humanitarian disaster, as well as Brazil’s own calls for a peaceful resolution to the crisis.”

Mr. Bolsonaro begs to differ: he thinks it is “an exaggeration to speak of a massacre,” and that “a big part of Ukraine’s population speaks Russian.” In a recent press conference, he declared that Brazil would remain neutral in the conflict. After all, he...