Former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) gave details, this Thursday (30), of a telephone conversation he had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in July last year.
He claims that he was justified in denying Brazil’s entry into the embargo promoted by the West against Russia because of the war.
In an interview with Rádio Itatiaia this Friday (30), Bolsonaro said that, charged with sanctions against the Russians, he questioned Zelensky about how the issue of fertilizers would look – an agricultural input that Brazil imports from Russia.
“There will be a lack of food for us and for the world. If today I join the boycott and resolve [a guerra], all good. Will you solve? It won’t solve. I’m sorry about the situation. I cannot, in a war far from Brazil, bring hunger, disgrace to the Brazilian people, ”he said.
Despite the connection between Bolsonaro and Zelensky having been disclosed in July last year, the then Brazilian president did not give details of the conversation, saying that the content could not be leaked: “It is a state secret.”
However, after the virtual meeting, the Ukrainian leader took to social media and made a short statement about the dialogue.
“I briefed him on the situation at the front. We discussed the importance of resuming Ukrainian grain exports to avoid a Russian-provoked global food crisis,” Zelensky tweeted.
Had a conversation with President of Brazil @jairbolsonaro. Informed about the situation on the front. Discussed the importance of summing up 🇺🇦 grain exports to prevent a global food crisis provoked by Russia. I call on all partners to join the sanctions against the aggressor.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 18, 2022
The Ukrainian leader also reinforced his recurring call for countries to apply sanctions against Russians.
“I call on all partners to join the sanctions against the perpetrator,” concluded Zelensky’s tweet.
Bolsonaro also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin a week before the start of the war, in February 2022.
On the occasion, Bolsonaro demonstrated that Brazil was “in solidarity with Russia” and that both countries had “a lot to collaborate on”, citing defense, agriculture and oil and gas topics.
At that time, Russia was already in crisis with Ukraine and NATO member countries in the face of tension with the accumulation of Russian troops in the Ukrainian border region.
* Posted by Léo Lopes, with information from Gabriele Koga, from CNN
Source: CNN Brasil
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