Brazil wants to buy ‘all it can’ diesel from Russia
Brazil intends to buy as much diesel as it can from Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions which weigh on Moscow declared Tuesday at the United Nations (UN) the head of Brazilian diplomacy, Carlos Alberto Franco França.
The statement comes after an announcement by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro that a deal is ” almost “ about to reach a conclusion on this subject with Russia.
“We must be sure to have enough diesel for the agro-industry and for the Brazilian drivers”explained the minister to journalists on the sidelines of a meeting of the UN Security Council chaired by Brazil.
Russia has been under sanctions from the European Union and the United States since its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, but several countries around the world have chosen not to apply them, driving a wedge into the international unity desired by Washington to isolate Moscow and condemn the war.
Brazil is “a strategic partner” from Russia, a country on which it is heavily dependent for fertilizers, recalled the Minister.
Faced with escalating fuel prices and the approach of the October presidential election, Jair Bolsonaro – close to Vladimir Putin – announced on Monday that he was on the verge of reaching an agreement to buy diesel from Russia , despite international sanctions. During a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart on June 26, the Brazilian president had already obtained from Russia a commitment to guarantee a supply “uninterrupted” in fertilizer, vital for the powerful Brazilian agro-industry.
World agricultural power, Brazil imports more than 80% of the fertilizers it uses, and more than 20% of them come from Russia, its main supplier.