BRASILIA, Feb 28, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said
Sunday that South America's biggest country will remain "neutral" over
Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

The far-right Bolsonaro, who undertook a controversial visit to Moscow on
February 16 to meet with President Vladimir Putin just as Russian leaders
were finalizing plans for their full-scale invasion, said his Russian
counterpart confided some "secret" issues about Ukraine in their lengthy
conversation.

  Bolsonaro said he told Putin that Brazil will maintain a position of
neutrality in the war, and that it remains "in favor of peace."

  "We are not going to take sides," Bolsonaro told reporters. "We are going
to continue our neutrality and help as much as possible in the search for a
solution."

  Brazilians "want peace, but we cannot bring (the war's) consequences here,"
he added, recalling that Brazil is a major purchaser of Russian fertilizers.

  Bolsonaro, who has expressed admiration for Putin, has largely avoided
criticizing Russia over its aggression, even as Putin's Ukraine operation has
been broadly lambasted by the West.

  Last Thursday he upbraided his own vice president, Hamilton Mourao, for
saying Brazil did not agree with the invasion of Ukraine.

  Bolsonaro on Sunday said Brazil actively worked to help water down a United
Nations Security Council resolution that criticized Russia, referring to the
change of the word "condemns" to "deplores" in the final version of the
measure.

  Brazil voted in favor of that resolution, which was vetoed by Russia. But
Brazil did not sign a declaration by member countries of the Organization of
American States in which they strongly condemned Russia's invasion.

  Bolsonaro's trip to Moscow earned a firm rebuke by the White House, which
described Brazil as being "on the other side of where the global community
stands."