In a phone call between the presidents of the United States and Brazil, the two leaders called for the soonest settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, according to a statement from the Brazilian president's press service. The statement, as reported by TASS, said the presidents stressed the need to urgently find a mutually agreed-upon solution to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which has been ongoing for nearly five years.
Separately, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also used the call to urge US President Donald Trump to resolve the two countries' trade dispute, saying that US tariffs were imposed on "baseless" grounds, as reported by the South China Morning Post. Washington had imposed two new sets of tariffs on Brazil in July, a move that has become a key campaign issue ahead of Brazil's presidential election in October.
During the call, Lula told Trump that the tariffs "negatively affect both Brazil and the United States," according to a statement from his office. "To remain at the negotiating table is the best option for both countries," he said.
Relations between Trump and Lula have blown hot and cold in recent months, the South China Morning Post reported, with diplomatic tensions flaring as the election approaches. Trump has backed several victorious right-wing candidates in recent Latin American elections, and he is an ally of Brazil's jailed far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, whose son Flavio is Lula's main rival in the election.
On the Ukraine conflict, the Brazilian president also drew attention to the need for discussing a reform of the United Nations and its Security Council. Lula expressed regret about the UN Security Council's impotency and, as he had noted earlier in phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, he proposed calling an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council to try to find diplomatic solutions to international crises, according to the TASS report.
The two reports from TASS and the South China Morning Post focus on different aspects of the call, with the former highlighting the Ukraine settlement and UN reform, and the latter emphasizing the trade dispute. Neither outlet provided a full transcript or additional details about other topics that may have been discussed.