Link to Article: https://www.reuters.com/world/bolsonaro-says-brazil-keen-russian-nuclear-reactors-no-mention-ukraine-2022-02-16/
The Brazilian President Bolsonaro spoke with Russian President Putin in Moscow regarding the conflict in Ukraine. Bolsonaro said “I told Putin that Brazil supports any country that seeks peace and that’s his intention”. Brazil also says that they believe that Russian troops are being withdrawn from the border which differs with what the United States has reported. Bolsonaro is on a trip to Moscow which many Western countries encouraged him to not go to due to the conflict ongoing in Ukraine. Brazil is also looking to buy nuclear reactors from Russia.
Brazil and Russia have developed close ties due to both of them being a member of BRICS. Brazil is trying to get Russia to help them to resolve issues with power production and agriculture. Brazil in the past had agreed to allow a Russian company to help manage their nuclear power plants. Now Brazil is also hiring a Russian company to create more nuclear power plants and to help manage nuclear waste that is created. By having the Brazilian president come to Russia it makes it appear to the international community that there are some countries that are still siding with Russia even with the Ukraine conflict ongoing. Brazil also said that they support peace which makes it appear that Russia may not invade Ukraine.
Both Russia and Brazil are members of BRICS. BRICS is made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. These countries were all emerging economies when BRICS was founded that were rapidly gaining power and influence over the countries around them. These countries are also some of the most populous countries. The composition of this group is strange since some areas are contested by different members of BRICS and have turned into skirmishes such as on the Sino-India border. These countries together make up almost a quarter of the total world’s economy.