Brazil’s president told Putin he ‘supports any country that seeks peace’

After a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow amid rising tensions with Ukraine, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Wednesday that he did not deliver a specific message beyond support for a peaceful resolution. 

“I told Putin that Brazil supports any country that seeks peace. And that’s his intention,” Bolsonaro said, according to Reuters.

He also said that “a path to a peaceful solution has presented itself” in response to Russia’s claims that it has begun withdrawing troops from the Ukrainian border. 

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, however, said on Tuesday that he had “not seen any de-escalation on the ground, not seen any signs of reduced Russian military presence on the borders of Ukraine.”

Amid doubts from the West about the truth of their statements, Moscow released footage it said showed artillery units and tanks leaving Crimea.

But the U.S. has also disputed that assertion.

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “We continue to see critical units moving toward the border, not away from the border.”

Brazil has long had a cordial relationship with Russia as both countries are BRICS members, a coalition of emerging economies also including India, China and South Africa. 

The U.S. had called for the Brazilian leader to delay his trip to Moscow amid efforts to resolve the crisis with Ukraine. Bolsonaro, an ally of former President Trump, has lost international clout after President Biden took office, Reuters noted.