(Bloomberg) — Brazil’s foreign minister said Brazil and other developing nations have the right to chose the stance they want in global affairs, in a sign of persisting gaps between the North and South regarding the war in Ukraine. 

“I reject by principle European and US pressure to force automatic alignment on any theme,” Foreign Minister Carlos Franca said in an interview in the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Bali, where he is the head of the Brazilian delegation.

“Countries like Turkey, India, Brazil have an obligation to have a stance of their own and contribute” in their own way,” he added.

Franca, a career diplomat, is on his way out as foreign minister following president Jair Bolsonaro’s failed reelection bid in September. The new leader, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, will take power in January, a decade after his first presidency ended.

Franca’s stance reflects Brazil’s long-held tradition of independence by which the country has kept trade and diplomatic ties with both Western powers and their foes, including China and Iran.

“It’s not fair to cancel Russia, its voice and its participation,” Franca said.

Source: Bloomberg.com