Carlos França: Brazil is in favor of an immediate ceasefire, the protection of civilians and civil infrastructure, unimpeded access to humanitarian services — Photo: Cristiano Mariz
Critical of the way Western countries reacted to the invasion of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Carlos Alberto França believes that the economic sanctions imposed on Russia will generate negative consequences mainly for developing nations.
For him, the offensive against the country “practically makes payments in export and import operations with the Russians impossible” and represents a “dangerous threat” to the international trade system for the coming years.
“The great risk of the actions as they have been implemented is that their consequences in the medium term will fall more on the developing world than on Russia itself, while protecting the interests of developed countries from their worst effects”, stated França, which classified the measures adopted as “unilateral and selective”.
Yesterday, the head of Itamaraty gave a speech and answered questions from parliamentarians during a Senate plenary session dedicated to discussing the developments of the current conflict in Eastern Europe.
For the chancellor, the Western world's reaction to Russia's invasion only preserves “urgent interests of some countries”, related to the supply of oil and gas in Europe. He said that, on the other hand, the same measures affect the supply of products essential to the survival of “a large portion of” the world’s population.
“The fertilizers that we in Brazil need are equally essential to avoid hunger and guarantee the economic survival and political stability of developing nations – that is, countries that account for three quarters of the global population,” stated França.
According to the minister, Brazil has voted and spoken out in both the Security and Human Rights Councils and also in the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) in accordance with the country's “diplomatic tradition”.
In this sense, the chancellor stated that Brazil is in favor of an immediate ceasefire, the protection of civilians and civil infrastructure, unimpeded access to humanitarian services and a prompt political solution to the current conflict based on the Minsk agreements, signed by both Russia and by Ukraine, in 2015, and approved by the UN Security Council, in the same year.
During his trip to the Senate, the minister justified the declaration of solidarity made by President Jair Bolsonaro with Russia, during a trip to Moscow in early February. According to him, the president's statement aimed to reinforce Brazil's position as a “reliable partner”.
“I understand the idea of reliability. The president spoke of solidarity, in the sense that this word is grounded, firm, with Brazil as a reliable partner for Russia, within the principles that we respect”, said the chancellor.
At the time, Bolsonaro's statement generated criticism for giving the impression that the Brazilian government had chosen a side in the war between Russia and Ukraine, days before the invasion of Russian troops into the neighboring country began. The president himself denied such an understanding.
Yesterday, the minister even criticized statements made by the American government in Washington, contrary to the tone of Bolsonaro's demonstration. “We do not consider it appropriate for a country, any country, to make an interpretation of the statements made by our head of state,” said França.
Asked about the possible antagonistic positions on foreign policy defended by Bolsonaro and the Itamaraty diplomatic corps, France preferred to compromise the issue. “I don’t see a dichotomy between the position of the Presidency of the Republic and that of Itamaraty”, he assured.
The minister used an excerpt from the Constitution to say that the role of ministers is to assist the head of the Executive Branch, the president, in making decisions. “The positions are discussed with the President of the Republic. I bring to him the visions we have. With a traditional attitude, he guides us.”
By Rafael Bitencourt and Rafael Walendorff — From Brasília
25/03/2022
Source: Valor Econômico
