According to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine has worn out mankind. Lula, the well-known leader of Brazil, was in the city to participate in the G20 Leaders’ Summit.
Lula praised the G20 nations‘ ability to issue a united statement during his comments at a news conference, where it is believed that Brazil played a significant role.
“On the Russia-Ukraine crisis, India worked very closely with Brazil, South Africa, and Indonesia. I want to say that it was the emerging markets that played a key role. There was very tough, very ruthless negotiations for several days non-stop,” said India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant during a press briefing.
The G20 summit will formally elect Brazil as its next host nation on December 1. Lula voiced the wish that both Vladimir Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping of China will be present at the 2024 G20 Summit in Brazil.
After settling their disagreements about terminology pertaining to the conflict in Ukraine, the G20 nations were able to come to an agreement on a unified statement. Brazil’s Lula has been an outspoken proponent of the idea of a group of neutral nations working to end the conflict. Lula also called on the US to “stop encouraging war and start talking about peace.” This led to a sharp retort from America, which accused the Brazilian president of “parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda.”
During his news conference, Lula also called for the reform of international organizations. The G4 nations, which also include Japan and Germany, include India and Brazil. These four have lobbied for the UN Security Council to be expanded and have pledged to support one another’s applications for a permanent seat.
“What happened at G20 is more important than the money spent in organizing it. The global biofuel alliance is one great initiative, so we should say India invested the money, not spent the money,” Lula was quoted as saying about India’s new initiative, which was launched during the G20.
He also spoke of the prospect of including other groupings in the G20.
“Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) countries are already in G20— Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. African Union membership was very important. Let’s see if the situation develops to take other groupings as well,” President Lula said. The African Union became a permanent member of the G20 in 2023.
