Brazil refuses to sign Summit for Democracy declaration against Russia

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
30 Mar 21:36
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Brazil refuses to sign the final declaration of the US Summit for Democracy, by extension refusing to condemn Russia.

President Joe Biden speaks alongside Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a Summit for Democracy virtual plenary in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, March 29, 2023, in Washington, DC, United States (AP)

The Brazilian government refused Thursday to sign the final declaration of the Summit for Democracy, in which the participating countries sought to condemn Russia for the Ukraine war, the Brazilian Globo newspaper reported, citing sources.

The diplomatic source revealed that the government of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said it did not agree with the utilization of the summit to condemn Russia, the newspaper reported.

This comes after Lula da Silva said in early February that Russia must be provided with "minimum conditions" in order for the conflict in Ukraine to be settled.

"Russia is not a small country... We need to create a narrative that gives Russians the minimum conditions to end the war... Let's end the war and then discuss at the negotiating table what we want," Lula told Christiane Amanpour of CNN.

The Brazilian leader further expressed his wish of engaging with both parties in discussing a truce, including the US, China, India, Indonesia, and other countries as he considers that the world can develop only via a condition of peace.

Despite the massive campaign of Western sanctions against Moscow, Brazil, and Russia have been seeking to maintain current commercial, economic, and investment links, with a specific emphasis on Russian fertilizer exports.

Last December, the trade turnover between Brazil and Russia was reported to have exceeded $8 billion.

Brazil is Russia's main trade partner in Latin America and continues to rely on Russian fertilizers for agricultural purposes.

Moreover, both nations are parties to the BRICS alliance, which is establishing itself as a renowned alliance on the world stage. The bloc includes the world's major developing countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It was also announced, recently, that a handful of medium-sized economies intend to join the bloc: Argentina, Algeria Iran, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

The Summit for Democracy has faced mounting criticism since it was announced by the Biden administration.

The Financial Times published an op-ed written by Edward Luce listing some of the many reasons why US President Joe Biden's summit was manifestly "awkward".

According to the report, the first and most obvious of all reasons is the guestlist of speakers that are invited to speak at the virtual summit.

Among the guest speakers included India's Modi who has recently jailed opposition leader Rahul Gandhi under fabricated allegations and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has triggered nationwide unrest within the settler population over his judicial overhaul.

Not to mention the US' horrifying record in the MENA region. Needless to say, it has successfully conducted a grand project of destroying the entire Arab civilization under the banner of freedom and liberal democracy.

Even Syria, as it remains the last-standing secular republic in the region, is enduring the plight of ongoing US occupation in its northern territories.

We should instead seek to hear what the Global South thinks of democracy, the report asks. Judging by their UN voting record, it is clear to see that very few care about the conflict in Ukraine.

This is not only exemplified by the Global South's resistance to western sanctions against Russia but there have been numerous cases where countries chose to fully align with Russia, going as far as kicking out western entities in their territories, including in Mali and Burkina Faso who have both got rid of French troops.