Some Latin American countries are attached to their neutrality.
According to Brazilian daily
Folha de S. Paulo
, newly elected Brazilian President Lula da Silva rejected the German government's request to provide Leopard-1 tank ammunition to be passed on to Ukraine.
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While the head of the Brazilian army Julio Cesar Arruda praised the economic interests of such a delivery, the Brazilian president opposed such an operation, arguing that "
it was not worth provoking the Russians
“, details the
Folha
newspaper .
This decision by the new Brazilian head of state would have come the day before the dismissal of Julio Cesar Arruda from his command post.
In a difficult internal political context, two weeks after the attacks against centers of power in Brasília by the nationalist ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, the Brazilian government maintains a position of neutrality in the conflict in Ukraine, even if the country has condemned the Russian invasion at the UN.
Also according to the Brazilian daily, Germany had already unofficially probed the Brazilian government of Jair Bolsonaro last year to obtain ammunition for the old anti-aircraft tank Gepard sent to Ukraine, Brazil still operating this model.
Read alsoIn Brazil, Lula tries to bring the army into line
Brazil is heavily dependent on Russian fertilizer imports for its agro-industry, and has refused since the first day of the Russian invasion to adopt Western sanctions against Moscow.
The country, with its new president, is faithful to its traditional non-alignment.
And Lula thus joins his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, despite opposing political positions, on the conviction that it is necessary to show indulgence towards Vladimir Putin.
Argentina on the same line
The Russian president had also congratulated Lula on his election in October, saying he wanted "
constructive cooperation in all areas
".
And Lula had drawn criticism by declaring in December that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was "
as much responsible
" for the conflict as Vladimir Putin.
Brazil is not the only one to maintain this position vis-à-vis Russia.
Argentina also condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the UN but did not adopt economic sanctions against Moscow either.
The Argentine President, Alberto Fernández, declared this Saturday in a joint press conference with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who is visiting Buenos Aires, to hope for the "
end as soon as possible of hostilities
" following "
Russia's invasion of Ukrainian territory
".
"
Russia must understand the damage it is causing in the southern hemisphere
," he added, referring to the repercussions of the war on "
food prices and hunger
."
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: Germany will deliver its Leopard tanks “at the end of March, beginning of April”
However, the Argentine president clarified that his country would not deliver weapons to Ukraine.
He declined to comment on Germany's recent decision to supply tanks to Ukraine and stressed that "
Argentina and Latin America are not planning to send weapons to Ukraine or to another place of conflict
.
Other Latin American countries are also refusing to deliver weapons to Ukraine, even if the United States insists on recovering the old Soviet equipment present on the continent, even if it means replacing it with new ones, according to recent statements by US General Laura Richardson.
The daily
Folha
argues that Colombia recently refused to deliver old Soviet-made Mi-9 and Mi-17 helicopters.