Scholz receives Brazil's President Lula for government consultations at the Chancellery
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz received Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the Chancellery on Monday on the occasion of government consultations between the two countries. At the meeting in Berlin, differences regarding the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East will also be discussed, as government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit announced. There are "sometimes different perspectives on the conflicts". This was already evident during the chancellor's trip to Brazil at the end of January.
Lula's stance on Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has met with a lack of understanding from Kiev's Western supporters. The left-wing president blames Ukraine for the war and accuses Kiev's allies of prolonging the fighting by supplying weapons. Lula rejects sanctions against Russia. At the UN General Debate in September, he called for an end to the war in Ukraine through "dialog".
Scholz, on the other hand, always emphasizes Ukraine's right to self-defence against Russian aggression and stresses that there should be no "dictated peace".
Brazil and Germany are also not on the same page when it comes to assessing the war between Israel and the radical Islamic group Hamas. Lula had equated the Israeli army's military response to the atrocities committed by Hamas during its attack on Israel in October with "terrorism", while his party spoke of a "genocide" in the Gaza Strip.
"We do not share this position," emphasized Hebestreit on Monday. "At this point, we remain of different opinions." The German government is firmly on Israel's side in the conflict and always emphasizes Israel's right to self-defence.
The planned Mercosur free trade agreement is also likely to be discussed at the meeting in Berlin. The EU's agreement with the South American Mercosur states of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay has been fully negotiated since 2019, but has not yet been ratified. The main dispute is over environmental requirements for South American farmers. France, Austria and other countries are pushing for strict requirements to protect their own farmers.
Read also:
During the government consultations, Scholz and Lula may discuss the Germany-Brazil position on the Mercosur free trade agreement, which has not been ratified due to environmental requirements for South American farmers.Scholz and Lula will likely discord on the issue of the war between Israel and Hamas, with Germany supporting Israel's right to self-defense and Lula criticizing Israel's military response as terrorism.Government consultations between Scholz and Lula also include discussing disagreements on international conflicts, such as the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, where Scholz supports Ukraine's right to self-defense and Lula calls for dialog to end the war in Ukraine.
Source: www.ntv.de
