Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during an interview with Japanese media at the presidential palace in Brasilia on Tuesday.
1:00 JST, May 3, 2024
BRASILIA – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed his desire to expand cooperation with Japan to reform the UN Security Council in an interview with Japanese media at the presidential palace.
Lula spoke to The Yomiuri Shimbun and other members of the Japanese press on Tuesday, ahead of his scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday. Japan and Brazil, along with Germany and India, are members of the Group of Four, which seeks permanent membership of the UN Security Council.
Lula said Russia’s veto of a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine is a clear indication of the powerlessness of the United Nations.
“This war could have been prevented through dialogue if the Security Council had representatives from more countries,” the president said.
Lula condemned Israel’s continued attacks on the Palestinian territory of Gaza as “genocide.”
“Hospitals are being bombed, women are dying in hospitals during childbirth, and children are choosing death over having their legs amputated without anesthesia,” he said.
