米国の対イラン制裁にブラジルが公然と反抗
Brazil rebuff for Iran sanctions drive
By Daniel Dombey in Brasília and Jonathan Wheatley in,São Paulo
Published: March 4 2010 02:00 | Last updated: March 4 2010 02:00
Brazil delivered a wounding blow to Washington's hopes of international consensus for sanctions on Iran yesterday when its president declared his opposition to such measures hours before meeting Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state.
In an indication of Brazil's growing self-confidence on the international stage - and its effort to chart a path independent of Washington - Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated his backing for Iran's nuclear programme, as long as it remained purely peaceful.
The US and its partners say that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons capacity, while the United Nations nuclear watchdog recently suggested Tehran could be working on a warhead.
But despite strong condemnation of the nuclear programme by the European Union and Russia in recent days and Mrs Clinton's visit to Brazil, in which she will focus on the Iran file, Mr Lula de Silva remained unmoved.
"It is not prudent to push Iran up against a wall," he said, outlining his opposition to the US drive for sanctions, a push that is perhaps Washington's top international priority at present.
"The prudent thing is to establish negotiations."
He added he would have a "frank discussion" of the issue with Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, Iran's president, when he visited Tehran in May.
At the weekend Mr Lula da Silva had underlined Brazil's unwillingness to bow to US pressure when he said during a visit to El Salvador: "I am going to visit Iran and I do not have to account for myself to anybody. . . Each country exercises democracy as it sees fit. The US does so in its way and not everybody agrees with how their government behaves."
His comments are a shot across the bows of the US ahead of the meeting with Mrs Clinton, although some officials say they will have a greater chance to win over the Brazilian leader when he meets Barack Obama, the US president, in Washington next month.
Earlier yesterday Mrs Clinton said the US saw Brazil "assuming greater responsibility and leadership as time goes on".
The US is seeking to build consensus for sanctions on the Security Council - where Brazil currently has a seat - but is facing resistance from a number of members, including China, Turkey and Lebanon. While Washington needs only nine out of 15 votes to obtain a resolution - as long as China does not veto the measure - it is looking for a strong international sign of support, to heighten Iran's isolation.
This is all the more important for US strategy, since any sanctions agreed by the UN may be relatively limited and focused on the country's Revolutionary Guard and its financial institutions. Russia has already announced its -opposition to "crippling" sanctions.
Brazil is taking its independent line as the country seeks to establish itself as a regional leader. The US is at the same time trying to deepen its ties with Latin America after tensions over its policy on a coup last year in Honduras.
But in a sign of some of the obstacles Washington confronts, the countries of the region held a summit last week that excluded the US and Canada. While Mrs Clinton says it is time to "turn the page" on last year's Honduras coup, many governments still say the US did not oppose the coup leaders vigorously enough.
Eric Farnsworth, vice-president of the Council of the Americas in Washington and a former state department official, said Brazil's resistance to US pressure showed the limits of Washington's ability to persuade other countries in the region to align with its policy goals.
"It's not the way it used to be," he said. "A lot of people in Washington are asking themselves if Brazil is a true partner of the US or an emerging rival. In my opinion there will be a bit of both.
"The big question is, 'how do you manage that situation?' It's a challenge we've not had to face before."
By Daniel Dombey in Brasília and Jonathan Wheatley in,São Paulo
Published: March 4 2010 02:00 | Last updated: March 4 2010 02:00
Brazil delivered a wounding blow to Washington's hopes of international consensus for sanctions on Iran yesterday when its president declared his opposition to such measures hours before meeting Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state.
In an indication of Brazil's growing self-confidence on the international stage - and its effort to chart a path independent of Washington - Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated his backing for Iran's nuclear programme, as long as it remained purely peaceful.
The US and its partners say that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons capacity, while the United Nations nuclear watchdog recently suggested Tehran could be working on a warhead.
But despite strong condemnation of the nuclear programme by the European Union and Russia in recent days and Mrs Clinton's visit to Brazil, in which she will focus on the Iran file, Mr Lula de Silva remained unmoved.
"It is not prudent to push Iran up against a wall," he said, outlining his opposition to the US drive for sanctions, a push that is perhaps Washington's top international priority at present.
"The prudent thing is to establish negotiations."
He added he would have a "frank discussion" of the issue with Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, Iran's president, when he visited Tehran in May.
At the weekend Mr Lula da Silva had underlined Brazil's unwillingness to bow to US pressure when he said during a visit to El Salvador: "I am going to visit Iran and I do not have to account for myself to anybody. . . Each country exercises democracy as it sees fit. The US does so in its way and not everybody agrees with how their government behaves."
His comments are a shot across the bows of the US ahead of the meeting with Mrs Clinton, although some officials say they will have a greater chance to win over the Brazilian leader when he meets Barack Obama, the US president, in Washington next month.
Earlier yesterday Mrs Clinton said the US saw Brazil "assuming greater responsibility and leadership as time goes on".
The US is seeking to build consensus for sanctions on the Security Council - where Brazil currently has a seat - but is facing resistance from a number of members, including China, Turkey and Lebanon. While Washington needs only nine out of 15 votes to obtain a resolution - as long as China does not veto the measure - it is looking for a strong international sign of support, to heighten Iran's isolation.
This is all the more important for US strategy, since any sanctions agreed by the UN may be relatively limited and focused on the country's Revolutionary Guard and its financial institutions. Russia has already announced its -opposition to "crippling" sanctions.
Brazil is taking its independent line as the country seeks to establish itself as a regional leader. The US is at the same time trying to deepen its ties with Latin America after tensions over its policy on a coup last year in Honduras.
But in a sign of some of the obstacles Washington confronts, the countries of the region held a summit last week that excluded the US and Canada. While Mrs Clinton says it is time to "turn the page" on last year's Honduras coup, many governments still say the US did not oppose the coup leaders vigorously enough.
Eric Farnsworth, vice-president of the Council of the Americas in Washington and a former state department official, said Brazil's resistance to US pressure showed the limits of Washington's ability to persuade other countries in the region to align with its policy goals.
"It's not the way it used to be," he said. "A lot of people in Washington are asking themselves if Brazil is a true partner of the US or an emerging rival. In my opinion there will be a bit of both.
"The big question is, 'how do you manage that situation?' It's a challenge we've not had to face before."
"米国の対イラン制裁にブラジルが公然と反抗" へのコメントを書く