Kisses, champagne and pats on the back. Emmanuel Macron concluded, Thursday March 28, a three-day state visit to Brazil which took him to the Amazon, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and finally Brasilia. From the capital, the French president displayed his desire to relaunch relations between the two countries, as well as his closeness with his counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. A Bahian gourmet lunch was organized at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Itamaraty, in the presence of ex-footballer Rai Souza Vieira de Oliveira and Dimitri Payet, now an attacking midfielder at the Vasco da Gama club.
A little before, Emmanuel Macron was received at the Planalto presidential palace, a monumental work by Oscar Niemeyer, located on the Place des Trois-Pouvoirs, devastated by the Bolsonarist rioters on January 8, 2023. Guard of honor, review of ‘an almost complete Brazilian government, Lula made a point of showing respect for his French host, whom he hugged several times, before presenting him with the country’s highest distinction reserved for foreigners, the Grand- Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross. In return, the Head of State decorated the Brazilian first lady, Rosângela da Silva, known as “Janja”, with the Legion of Honor. But behind the lightness, the smiles and hugs, the meeting between the two heads of state was dominated by serious subjects, starting with the war in Ukraine and that in Gaza.
At the end of their interview, the Brazilian president also emphasized his concern for ” negotiate “ to go towards ” the peace “while his French counterpart did not rule out sending troops to Ukraine a month ago to help it resist Russian assaults. “I am so many thousands of kilometers from Ukraine that I do not need to experience the same nervousness as the French, who are closer”declared Lula, believing that Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin “are going to have to get along.”
“France is a power of peace, but it is not weak, so that democracy and international law are defended”replied Mr. Macron, believing that the participation of the Russian president, whom Lula could invite to Rio for the G20 summit in November, must be the subject of a consensus before being confirmed. “If it is a meeting that is not useful and creates division, we should not do it,” suggested the French leader to his counterpart.
“Lula cannot turn his back on Russia”
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