White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki| Photo: EFE/EPA/OLIVER CONTRERAS
The US once again criticized President Jair Bolsonaro’s expression of solidarity with Russia, made when the Brazilian president met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. “Brazil seems to be on the other side of where the majority of the global community is,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday (18), when asked by a journalist if the US government felt betrayed by Bolsonaro.
18200517On Thursday, the US Department of State issued a note stating that “the moment when the President of Brazil sympathized with Russia, when Russian forces are preparing to potentially launch attacks on Ukrainian cities, it couldn’t have been worse”. “This undermines international diplomacy aimed at averting a strategic and humanitarian disaster, as well as Brazil’s own calls for a peaceful solution to the crisis,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.
18200517On being received by Putin on Wednesday (16), Bolsonaro said that Brazil is “in solidarity with Russia”, without specifying in what aspect he expressed solidarity. Later, in a statement to the press, he tried to clarify the statement and stated that Brazil stands in solidarity with countries that strive for peace.