MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolsonaro hints solution to Ukraine war resembles that of 1982 in the South Atlantic

Bolsonaro also announced he would not be attending next week's Mercosur Summit in Asunción

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro Thursday said he had “the solution” to the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine and vowed to discuss it with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.

Bolsonaro, a retired Army captain, explained that “I am going to give him my opinion of what I believe, of the solution for the war. I know what the solution for this case would be, but I am not going to say it in advance.”

“How did the war between Argentina and the United Kingdom end in 1982? It's that way!” Bolsonaro hinted, although he would not elaborate on these statements to CNN Brazil.

Bolsonaro also said he regretted what is happening on Ukrainian territory and assured that it was Zelensky who “sought” to establish a dialogue with his administration. “I told him immediately that I would converse with him, of course. He has a big country to manage.”

“I will talk a lot with Zelensky. He is a leader and I will give him my opinion. That war caused a problem not only for Brazil, but much more for Europe,” the Brazilian president added.

He also pointed out that “everything that was agreed with [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin is being fulfilled. On my part and on his part.” He and Putin met in Moscow Feb. 16, just days before the military deployment.

Bolsonaro and Zelenski are due to hold a conversation next Monday. “We regret it, the truth is that these things hurt, they hurt, but one has to understand,” Bolsonaro also pointed out, although he avoided delving into the implicit allegation that he envisioned a 2022 version of the Menendez-Moore meeting as the way out of war.

The Brazilian president has avoided condemning Russia's operations in Ukraine and remained neutral from a military standpoint while criticizing the West's economic sanctions against Russia and Russian citizens.

Bolsonaro also announced he would not be attending next week's Mercosur Summit in Asunción but did not explain why. “I said I'm no longer going. In politics, you can go back on some things, but my decision so far is not to go to Mercosur,” said Bolsonaro, who also highlighted his good relationship with his Paraguayan counterpart and Summit host Mario Abdo Benítez.

The July 21 Summit of Mercosur Heads of State would be the first face-to-face encounter after two years of virtual encounters due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On that occasion, Paraguay will hand over the rotating presidency of Mercosur to Uruguay's Luis Lacalle Pou, who has announced his country would engage in bilateral talks with China towards a free trade agreement.