Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Their meeting was held on Wednesday (February 21). The meeting comes amid diplomatic tensions between Brazil and Israel after the Israeli war on Gaza was compared to Nazi genocide during World War II. British news agency Reuters reported this news.
In a statement after the meeting, Brazil’s presidential office said Lula and Blinken discussed a range of issues, from the G20 summit to peace efforts in Gaza. Their meeting was about two hours long.
The Brazilian president reiterated his desire to end the conflict and establish peace in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, the statement said. The two agreed on the need for a Palestinian state.
Earlier, US officials said Lula and Blinken could discuss a wide range of global security issues, including the Gaza conflict.
In front of reporters at the Brazilian presidential palace, Lula commented that the US presidential election is going to be held in November.
At the time, Blinken said, US politics is very divided and six to seven contested states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada will determine the outcome.
Blinken said there are very few undecided voters.
Earlier on Monday, Israel said Lula would not be welcome in Israel unless she retracted her comments.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Tuesday that Washington disagreed with Lula’s comments. But he declined to say whether Blinken would raise the comments in a meeting with Lula. Lula made these comments after a tour of the Middle East last week.
#Lula #meeting #Blinken
