The US has been putting pressure on Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to cancel his upcoming trip to Moscow in an attempt to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin on the world stage, amid escalating tensions on the border with Ukraine.
That’s according to Brazilian broadsheet Folha de São Paulo, citing sources in the foreign ministry in Brasilia who say that American diplomats have expressed concern about the timing of Bolsonaro’s trip to Moscow, supposedly fearing that it sends a message to Russia that Brazil supports the Kremlin’s stance on Eastern Europe. Pressure to cancel the trip was reportedly exerted by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday during a phone conversation with Carlos França, Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.