Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira will be taking Brazilian President Lula da Silva’s initiative to pull together a group of nations to help mediate an end to the Ukraine-Russia conflict to the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting March 1-3 in New Delhi, O Estado de São Paulo reports. The initiative will be a leading item in Vieira’s bilateral meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on the sidelines of the G20 meeting, and while he will seek the support of other foreign ministers, he is especially interested in the support from fellow BRICS members India and South Africa, the daily reported on Feb. 24.
Vieira himself reported in a short article published the same day in the same paper, titled “It Is Time to Hear the Voices of Those who Want Peace in Ukraine,” that during the Munich Security conference, he had held 21 bilateral meetings in two days with other diplomats to discuss the initiative, including with the Ukrainians. No one expressed opposition to Brazil’s proposal that countries not involved in the conflict explore ways to end it, he reported.
Vieira argued that important countries not involved in the conflict have a constructive role to play. At this time, when “triumphalist rhetoric on both sides” and perspectives for new military offensives dominate media coverage, it is time for those who speak of peace to be given a greater voice. Brazil is not entering the debate to present an immediate solution, but to dialogue with other nations and find pathways for reaching an understanding, and from that, perhaps more ambitious initiatives may result.
He answered those in Brazil criticizing Lula’s initiative for alleged excessive international advocacy, by pointing out that Lula has spoken with 15 other heads of state, and Vieira himself has met with more than 40 foreign ministers, leaders of international bodies, and heads of states, and Brazil’s position on the conflict is well-understood, and some welcome the initiative, even if they are pessimistic about its prospects.
