The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, conveyed this Wednesday to the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,
his rejection
of the comparison that the Brazilian president made between the Israeli offensive in Gaza and the Holocaust.
Blinken
raised the issue during the hour and a half meeting he had with Lula
at the Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, US sources reported.
Lula's comments have sparked a diplomatic crisis between Brazil and Israel, which has declared the Brazilian president
"persona non grata."
Blinken and Lula had a "broad" and "frank"
conversation about the Gaza situation
, the US government sources explained.
In it, the head of US diplomacy
made it "clear that he does not agree"
with Lula's comparison.
The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.
Photo EFE
Regarding the conflict in the Middle East, the Brazilian presidency noted, in an official note, that Lula and Blinken "agreed on the need for the creation of a Palestinian State."
According to American sources, both politicians also disagreed about Ukraine, given that the Brazilian president
spoke of seeking a "diplomatic" solution
to the conflict, but Blinken said that the "conditions" for this do not exist and stressed the firm support of the United States for Kiev. .
On that point, Brazil's official statement says that Lula "reaffirmed his desire for peace and an end to the conflicts in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip."
The situation in Venezuela was also on the table
, after the disqualification of opposition candidate María Corina Machado was confirmed.
The United States hopes that Lula
will use his influence over Venezuelan President
Nicolás Maduro to hold democratic elections in the South American country.
At the meeting, Lula reiterated his invitation for Biden to visit Brazil, a complicated trip due to this being an election year in the United States.
After the meeting,
Blinken traveled to Rio de Janeiro
to participate in the G20 foreign ministers' meeting, where he will meet with the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov.
On Thursday he will arrive in Buenos Aires to meet on Friday with the new Argentine president, Javier Milei.
Source: EFE and AP
P.B.