Brazil thinks Russia’s opposition to NATO expansion justified
The official does not believe in Western claims of Russia’s potential invasion of Ukraine
Russia has reasons to resist NATO’s attempts to expand in eastern Europe, Brazilian Vice President Antonio Hamilton Mourao has told the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper in an interview.
“Russia views the eastern European region as its sphere of influence. As NATO goes deeper and deeper into this region, it [Russia] applies its right to resist,” he said.
The official does not believe in Western claims of Russia’s potential invasion of Ukraine.
“I don’t think that an invasion should be expected, <…> that Russia will decide to invade,” said Mourao, who is a retired army general.
The senior Brazilian official believes that his country should “stand aside” in the situation, despite “pressure from other countries, which are more involved.”
“One should keep in mind that Brazil and Russia are members of the BRICS group, and [that we] are partners. It is important for us to have business relations with that country, and this should be taken into account,” the vice president added.
The West and Kiev have recently been echoing allegations about Russia’s potential invasion of Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these claims as “empty and unfounded”, serving as a ploy to escalate tensions, pointing out that Russia did not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone.
However, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of provocations aimed at justifying such claims and warned that attempts to use military force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have serious consequences.
Earlier, the Foreign Ministry of Brazil said the conflict in eastern Ukraine should be resolved by peaceful means, on the basis of the Minsk agreements.
