White House accuses president Lula of parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda; inspections of grain ships reportedly restart after a pause
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The White House has hit back after Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on a trip to China that the US should stop “encouraging” the war in Ukraine
“In this case, Brazil is parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda without at all looking at the facts,” the US’s national security council spokesperson John Kirby said, adding that Lula’s comments were “deeply problematic”.
Despite Lula‘s comments about the United States, the 77-year-old, who returned to power in January after serving two terms from 2003 to 2010, is also seeking closer ties with Washington.
His visit to China and the UAE, postponed by a bout of pneumonia, came after a White House meeting in February with US president Joe Biden.