US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that America disagrees with the Holocaust remarks made for Israel.
A senior State Department official told journalists that Blinken “made clear we disagree with those comments” during a more than 90-minute meeting with Lula.
The official said that they had a “frank exchange” during the sit-down at the presidential palace in Brasilia.
Brazil’s presidential office released a separate statement which noted that the meeting involved discussions on topics ranging from the G20 summit to peace efforts in Gaza and Ukraine.
“President Lula reaffirmed his wish for peace and an end to the conflicts in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip. Both agreed on the need for the creation of a Palestinian state,” the Brazilian government said.
Taking to his official handle on social media platform X, Lula wrote that he and Blinken had discussed issues including a US-Brazilian initiative on helping workers, the environment and the clean-energy transition, in addition to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Meanwhile, Blinken called it a “very, very good meeting,” in brief comments to journalists as he left the presidential palace.
Recebi o Secretário de Estado dos Estados Unidos, Antony Blinken. Conversamos sobre o @g20org, a iniciativa pela melhoria da condição dos trabalhadores que lançamos com o presidente Biden, a proteção do meio ambiente, a transição energética, a ampliação dos laços de investimento… pic.twitter.com/SXwSKaCwPt
— Lula (@LulaOficial) February 21, 2024
On Sunday, Lula called Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip a “genocide,” comparing it to “when Hitler decided to kill the Jews”. In reaction, Israel declared the Brazilian leader “persona non grata”.
The Israel-Hamas war started when the Palestinian Islamist group launched an unprecedented attack on October 7. The attack resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to official figures released by Israel.
Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas and launched a massive military offensive in Gaza that the territory’s health ministry claims has killed more than 28,000 people.
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During the meeting, Lula and Blinken also discussed Haiti’s humanitarian problems and Venezuela’s territorial dispute with neighbouring Guyana over the oil-rich Essequibo area.
The official stated that Blinken commended Brazil for “its efforts to try and reduce tensions between Venezuela and Guyana.”
Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.
(With inputs from agencies)
