U.S. should stop 'encouraging' war in Ukraine, says Brazil's Lula

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva used his trip to China to push the message that “Brazil is back” as a key player on the global stage

Brazil's President said on April 15 that the U.S. should stop "encouraging war" in Ukraine, as he wrapped a state visit to China in which he has strengthened economic ties with his country's main trading partner.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva used his trip to push the message that "Brazil is back" as a key player on the global stage — and to warn that the South American country's deepening relations with China were non-negotiable.

Lula was headed on Saturday to the UAE for a one-day official visit, and will meet his counterpart Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

During the trip to China, the left-wing leader lashed out at the power of the U.S. dollar and the IMF, and met representatives from Chinese tech giant Huawei, which has been effectively shut out of the U.S. market.

"The United States needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace. The European Union needs to start talking about peace," Lula told reporters in Beijing.

In that way, the international community will be able to "convince" Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky that "peace is in the interest of the whole world", he said, before leaving for the UAE.

Lula, who returned to power in January after serving two terms between 2003 and 2010, met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday.