On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro in Moscow to discuss trade ties. Alongside the showpiece event, there was also a 2+2 dialogue between the countries defence and foreign ministers. Bolsonaro went ahead with his trip to Russia despite receiving warnings from his own Cabinet as well as the United States (US).
In the face of this opposition, prior to his trip, Bolsonaro insisted that his meeting would be purely centred around trade ties, stressing that “If the Ukraine issue is on the table, it will be by Putin’s decision.”
In a joint press conference after the meeting, Putin said the talks with Bolsonaro were “substantive and constructive,” adding that Russia looks forward to strengthening ties with Brazil, celebrating the fact that bilateral trade increased by 87% this past year. Putin added that aside from their burgeoning trade ties, the two countries also plan to bolster diplomatic ties and integration through multilateral forums, including the G20, the United Nations (UN), and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa). Furthermore, Putin even endorsed Brazil’s bid to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
Bolsonaro hailed Putin’s remarks, saying that both countries share common values on faith and ensuring global peace. He acknowledged Russia’s contribution of $3.5 billion worth of fertiliser to Brazil, which is one of the world’s leading agricultural producers. He also welcomed Moscow’s support for his country’s energy sector, particularly in exploring oil and the construction of small-scale nuclear power plants. Last September, Russian nuclear energy company Rosatom penned an agreement with Brazil’s state-owned Eletronuclear that facilitates collaboration on the construction and maintenance of nuclear power plants.
The two leaders notably avoided discussing the conflict at the Russia-Ukraine border altogether, and focused entirely on defence, energy, and trade ties. Bolsonaro, meanwhile, appears to be focused on gathering international support ahead of a crucial presidential election in October. In fact, he is also set to meet Hungarian strongman in Viktor Orbán in Budapest today. As things stand, Bolsonaro is trailing former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in various polls, largely due to discontent over his handling of the pandemic and numerous allegations of corruption.
Perhaps keeping the precariousness of his ability to be re-elected in mind, the Brazilian Cabinet and other high-ranking members of Bolsonaro’s administration instructed the leader to maintain neutrality on Ukraine, discussing it only if Putin brings it up. Brazil’s former Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo said Bolsonaro’s Russia trip sends a “problematic signal” and accused Russia of “bullying” Ukraine. The US Department of State urged Bolsonaro to stand up for democratic values in Moscow ahead of his trip, after expressing disapproval of the meeting earlier.
After a separate meeting between the defence and foreign ministers from the two nations, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu affirmed that Moscow’s military-technical ties with Brasilia will bolster security and stability in Latin America. Similarly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated the points made by Putin while highlighting that he has updated his Brazilian counterpart, Carlos Alberto França, on all the major security situations concerning the two countries.
Lavrov also once again accused the US of disrupting international law through its policy of unilaterally demarcating countries into “democracies” and “non-democracies,” possibly referring to the US President’s flagship Summit on Democracy, to which Brazil was invited but Russia was not. Additionally, Lavrov slammed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) eastward expansion towards Russia, calling it a “direct” threat to Russian national security.
Of late, Russia has been expanding its diplomatic contact in Latin America. Last month, Putin met with Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández and talked to Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega, congratulating him on his recent re-election. Furthermore, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said last month that Russia is not ruling out the chance of mobilising its army to Latin America, particularly Cuba and Venezuela, to deter the US from escalating tensions over Ukraine.