Brazilian President lives by Soviet narratives, Zelenskyy believes

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is living according to Soviet Union narratives, said the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview given to a leading Brazilian journalist of Ukrainian descent, Luciano Huck.

“I had a meeting with President Lula and I saw that he understood me. Because we had a very good dialogue, really good. I am grateful for that, but he lives by the narratives of the Soviet Union. It is a shame. He thinks of Russia as if the Soviet Union still existed today. Is China a democratic country? No. And what about Iran? Is it a democratic country? No. And what about North Korea? They are not democratic countries,” Zelenskyy said.

“It’s normal when you have economic relations, but we’re talking about a war, not about economic relations. It’s about geopolitics, it’s about values, it’s about people. It’s about democracy, purpose and freedom. What is a democratic and free country like Brazil doing together with countries that don’t respect these values? Who will win this tug of war? Will Brazil swallow these four allies or will these four allies swallow Brazil?” the president continued.

Brazil’s rhetoric is currently about politics, not truth. “This is just political rhetoric. It is not honest talk. It is not honest with us or with the Brazilian people. Because everyone knows who started this war. His team brought us a resolution, before the ‘peace meeting’ that we organized, but Brazil did not want to come, President Lula did not want to come. It was a shame. I have met with his team a few times, but so far they have not joined us in finding a solution. On the other hand, they have joined the Chinese plan. … It is not a plan. It is just a political statement, just to say that they are not alien to the war – but it is just something on paper,” the president noted.

To stop the war, Zelenskyy says, we need to unite. “I understand only concrete and honest proposals. I speak for our victims, for our dead. So if you want to help us stop the war, or help us make Putin stop the war, we have to unite,” Zelenskyy concluded.

The full interview will soon be available on the Globoplay platform.