Bolsonaro visits Putin in the Kremlin and expresses solidarity with Russia

(CNN) – During his official visit to Moscow on Wednesday, where he met his counterpart Vladimir Putin, President Jair Bolsonaro said that Brazil supports peace efforts to resolve tensions between Russia, the United States, NATO and Ukraine.

Bolsonaro speculated that Russia’s announcement that it would move some troops at the border was influenced by his government. “We went ahead with our official visit and part of the troops left the border, accidentally or not,” Bolsonaro said. Russia has not indicated that the alleged withdrawal of some troops near the Ukrainian border is related to Bolsonaro’s visit.

“President Putin is a person who seeks peace”

US officials have advised Bolsonaro’s government to postpone its official visit to Moscow as tensions continue to rise over Russian military exercises on the Ukrainian border.

“No, Brazil is a sovereign country. We have received information from different countries, and some do not want the visit to take place. Some believe that the worst can happen while we are here (in Russia),” he said. “I understand that President Putin is a person who seeks peace. No one in the world is interested in conflict,” he added.

When asked directly, Bolsonaro had no message for the Ukrainian president.

“I don’t have a message for anyone. Brazil is a peaceful country and many countries in the world have their own regional problems. There is a problem here and we are in solidarity with every country that seeks peace. The way to solve these impasses,” Bolsonaro said.

Bolsonaro travels to Hungary on Thursday to meet Hungarian President Janos Adair and Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and will then return to Brazil the same night.

Relations between Brazil and Russia

On Wednesday morning, Bolsonaro was received by his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in the Kremlin. In a brief introduction to the meeting, Bolsonaro said the purpose of his visit is to improve bilateral relations with Russia, according to the Brazilian presidency.

At the time, Bolsonaro did not directly refer to the tensions between Russia, the United States and NATO over Ukraine, but said “we are in solidarity with Russia” and proceeded to address relations between Brazil and Russia.

“With a lot of cooperation in various fields: defence, oil and gas, agriculture. Meetings are taking place. I am sure that my visit is an image of the world that we can grow a lot through our bilateral relations,” he said.

Putin praised Brazil as Russia’s main trading partner in Latin America.

“We are continuing the relations broken by the epidemic. Key ministers of your government visited Moscow. A meeting was held with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense today. We are actively working in international forums. I am pleased to receive you and I hope that,” the Russian President said. “Our meeting will be fruitful. Brazil is the main trading partner of the region Latin America. Hello.

The President of Brazil will travel to Hungary on Thursday. Although there is no confirmation yet, he is expected to meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbsen.

Brazil signs agreement to share confidential information with Russia

For his part, Brazilian Foreign Minister Carlos Franca met on Wednesday with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. During their meeting, they discussed agreements to exchange geopolitical information and military technology.

The Minister of the Brazilian Institutional Security Office, Augusto Heleno, has signed an agreement with Russia for the exchange of classified information between the two countries, according to Franca.

“We are interested in a regular and continuous exchange of estimates and geopolitical information from Latin America,” Lavrov said during a press conference.

Lavrov added that the officials discussed the tensions between Russia and the US/NATO over Ukraine during their meeting.

France did not speak about the discussion during a press conference. But Lavrov said that the two sides “exchanged views on the situation in Eastern Europe” and “the approach of the United States to replace its orders with international law and try to divide the world into two parts: democratic and undemocratic countries.”

The Russian Foreign Minister also stressed his country’s support for Brazil to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, as well as to increase the number of members of the organization.

The Brazilian Defense Minister, Walter Braga Neto, and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, also participated in the meeting.