Brazil Pres. Jair Bolsonaro Continues Russia Trip Despite U.S. Objections, Ukraine Crisis

The plane of Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro left the Latin American country Monday evening to head to Russia despite objections and suggestions to cancel the trip, including the U.S. government.

According to The Washington Post, some of his allies were afraid that Bolsonaro could make damaging comments on the crisis or that his presence could be seen as a support to Russia's invasion of its neighbor.

Even Bolsonaro's own Cabinet members were opposing his Russia trip. However, the visit was planned well before the Ukraine crisis emerged, with the Brazilian president focusing on bilateral trade.

Russia is a major source of fertilizers for Brazil's agricultural sector. Bolsonaro justified the trip on Monday in front of his supporters outside the presidential palace, saying that a huge part of the country's agribusiness depends on fertilizers.

The Brazilian president said they have issues to discuss with Russia, such as defense and energy, among other things. Two meetings were scheduled with Russia's President Vladimir Putin. Bolsonaro is set to arrive in Russia on Tuesday.

Brazil has publicly reaffirmed its diplomatic ties with Kyiv on Monday as Bolsonaro set off on an official visit to Russia. The foreign ministry announced that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Franca, spoke with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba by phone, France 24 reported.

Franca reiterated Brazil's support for a peaceful resolution of the crisis, adding that Brazil and Ukraine recently celebrated 30 years of diplomatic ties.

U.S. Government's Opposition Against the Russia Trip of Brazil President

A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that the U.S. government has urged Jair Bolsonaro to cancel a visit with Vladimir Putin in Russia amid the rising tensions over its troop build-up near Ukraine.

The source, who declined to be named, noted that U.S. officials worry that the Moscow trip could embolden Putin as he engages in talks to stave off an invasion.

The person said that it was not a good time to go and that U.S. officials had tried to "dissuade" the Brazilian president from taking the trip.

A Brazilian diplomat, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said that Bolsonaro's trip was still on and that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had not pushed Brazil to call it off when he called Franca.

The diplomat said there was no discussion of cancellation of the trip at all during the call, adding that the U.S. knows Bolsonaro's visit to Moscow is just about the trade.

Analysts on Brazil President's Trip to Russia

Meanwhile, analysts have noted the "terrible timing" of the visit amid the worst crisis since the Cold War. Western countries are afraid that Russia will invade Ukraine after deploying more than 100,000 troops with huge amounts of military hardware near or on the borders of the former Soviet republic.

Celso Amorim, who was foreign minister during the government of the now-opposition Workers' Party, said that canceling the trip could be seen as submitting to U.S. government policy.

Amorim noted that receiving an invitation from an important partner and canceling would give a "bad reading." Jair Bolsonaro's trip to Russia has been scheduled since December, following an invitation from Vladimir Putin.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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