Lula Meets Blinken after Gaza Comments Spark Diplomatic Rift

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (R) receives US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for a meeting at Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, 21 February 2024. (EPA)
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (R) receives US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for a meeting at Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, 21 February 2024. (EPA)
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Lula Meets Blinken after Gaza Comments Spark Diplomatic Rift

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (R) receives US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for a meeting at Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, 21 February 2024. (EPA)
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (R) receives US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for a meeting at Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, 21 February 2024. (EPA)

US top diplomat Antony Blinken met President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday, as the Brazilian leader was in the middle of a diplomatic spat with Israel over comments in which Lula likened that country's war in Gaza to the Nazi genocide during World War Two.

In brief remarks in front of reporters as they met at Brasilia's presidential palace, Lula remarked that US presidential elections are coming up in November.

Secretary of State Blinken responded that politics in the US were "so polarized" and the election would come down to six or seven battleground states including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada.

"There are fewer and fewer undecided voters," Blinken said. "There's a battle for a very thin segment of the electorate."

In a statement after the meeting, which lasted almost two hours, the Brazilian presidential office said that Lula and Blinken had discussed several topics ranging from the G20 summit to peace efforts in Gaza and Ukraine.

"President Lula reaffirmed his wish for peace and an end to the conflicts in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip," the Brazilian government said. "Both agreed on the need for the creation of a Palestinian State."

US officials had previously said they expected Lula and Blinken to have a robust conversation on issues of global security, including the conflict in Gaza sparked by attacks in southern Israel by Hamas militants on Oct. 7.

Israel said on Monday that Lula is not welcome in Israel until he takes back the comments.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Tuesday that Washington disagreed with Lula's comments, but declined to preview what Blinken would say in the meeting on the issue.

Lula's comments came after he visited the Middle East last week and just ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers in Rio de Janeiro as part of Brazil's presidency of the G20 group of advanced economies.

Washington, which provides Israel with military and diplomatic support, has urged Israel to protect civilians but defended Israel's right to target Hamas militants in the Gaza strip.

Ahead of Blinken's travel to South America, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols told reporters that sharing ideas on the conflict in Gaza would be "crucial to the conversation" between Lula and Blinken.



Ukraine Seeks Air Defense Systems as Western Backers Meet without the Pentagon Chief

(L-R) Supreme Allied Commander Europe SACEUR General Christopher G. Cavoli, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, British Chief of the Defense Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, British Secretary of State for Defense John Healey, Defense Minister of Ukraine Rustem Umerov, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Ukrainian Brigadier General Volodymyr Horbatiuk attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group ahead of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defense ministers meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 04 June 2025. (EPA)
(L-R) Supreme Allied Commander Europe SACEUR General Christopher G. Cavoli, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, British Chief of the Defense Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, British Secretary of State for Defense John Healey, Defense Minister of Ukraine Rustem Umerov, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Ukrainian Brigadier General Volodymyr Horbatiuk attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group ahead of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defense ministers meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 04 June 2025. (EPA)
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Ukraine Seeks Air Defense Systems as Western Backers Meet without the Pentagon Chief

(L-R) Supreme Allied Commander Europe SACEUR General Christopher G. Cavoli, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, British Chief of the Defense Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, British Secretary of State for Defense John Healey, Defense Minister of Ukraine Rustem Umerov, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Ukrainian Brigadier General Volodymyr Horbatiuk attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group ahead of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defense ministers meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 04 June 2025. (EPA)
(L-R) Supreme Allied Commander Europe SACEUR General Christopher G. Cavoli, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, British Chief of the Defense Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, British Secretary of State for Defense John Healey, Defense Minister of Ukraine Rustem Umerov, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Ukrainian Brigadier General Volodymyr Horbatiuk attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group ahead of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defense ministers meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 04 June 2025. (EPA)

Ukraine’s president on Wednesday urged Western backers to speed up deliveries of air defense systems to counter Russian missile strikes and to help boost weapons production.

The emphasis should be on US-made Patriot systems, President Volodymyr Zelenskky told a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

"These are the most effective way to force Russia to stop its missile strikes and terror," he said via video link, urging representatives of around 50 countries to make good on past pledges.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not attend, the first time a Pentagon chief has been absent since the forum for organizing Ukraine's military aid was set up three years ago. Hegseth’s predecessor, Lloyd Austin, created the group after Russia launched all-out war on Ukraine in 2022.

His absence is the latest step that the Trump administration has taken to distance itself from Ukraine’s efforts to repel Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022. More than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, according to UN estimates, as well as tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides.

Zelenskyy also appealed to the participants to buy weapons direct from Ukraine. "Ukrainian industry still has significant untapped capacity, it just needs financing," he said, underlining that a funding gap for weapons procurement amounts to about $18 billion.

The UK, which chaired the meeting along with Germany, said it plans a tenfold increase in drone production to help Ukraine. Drones have become a decisive factor in the war, now in its fourth year.

"We must ensure that Ukraine’s forces have what they need, when they need it, to continue their fight. But this is not just Ukraine’s battle. It’s a battle for the security of Europe, for our security today, tomorrow, and for our future generations," UK Defense Secretary John Healey said.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene said that "you recognize true friends not during a party, but when you do have difficult times. So therefore, our continuation of support for Ukraine and increasing it is of utmost importance."

Since the contact group was formed, Ukraine’s backers have collectively provided around $126 billion in weapons and military assistance, including more than $66.5 billion from the US.

The United States hasn't chaired a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group since the Trump administration took office in January.

European NATO allies are concerned that the US might withdraw troops from Europe to focus on the Indo-Pacific. French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that abandoning Ukraine would erode US credibility in deterring any conflict with China over Taiwan.