Minister: Brazil wants to buy a lot of diesel from Russia, #minister #Brazil #buy #lot #diesel #Russia Welcome to OLASMEDIA TV NEWSThis is what we have for you today:
UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Brazil’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that the country wants to buy as much diesel as possible from Russia after a deal with Moscow.
Carlos França called Russia “a strategic partner” and said Brazil is short of diesel.
“Of course we have to make sure we have enough diesel for the Brazilian agribusiness and of course for the Brazilian drivers,” he said. “So that’s why we were looking… for very reliable diesel suppliers and Russia is one of them.”
The minister responded to a question about President Jair Bolsonaro’s comments in Brasilia on Monday that Brazil “has a deal” and that Russian diesel “could get here in 60 days”. Earlier, the president told supporters that Brazil was about to get “cheaper” diesel from Russia.
“Russia continues to trade with the whole world,” Bolsonaro said.
França noted that Brazil and Russia are partners in the BRIC group of major emerging economies that also includes India, China and South Africa.
In addition to diesel, the foreign minister said, “we are heavily dependent on fertilizer exports from Russia and also from Belarus.”
Russia is also “a big supplier of oil and gas,” he said, adding: “You can ask Germany about that and Europe about it.”
Russia accounts for 40% of European imports of refined products, and 55% of those products are diesel and gas oil, according to Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office.
When asked how much diesel Brazil would buy from Russia, the foreign minister replied: “As much as we can”.
França, who earlier Tuesday chaired a UN Security Council meeting on strategic communications in UN peacekeeping missions, was asked whether Brazil is facing any resistance from Western countries that imposed sanctions following Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
He replied, “Oh no.”
França also noted a statement from the Canadian government on Sunday that it will allow the delivery of refurbished equipment used in a major natural gas pipeline between Russia and Europe that has undergone maintenance.
Russia’s Gazprom cited the lack of equipment last month as the reason for the gas flow more than halving by mid-June. Siemens Energy said allowing the gas turbine to ship to Germany was a first step in returning it to the pipeline it operates.
“I think we’re on the same page,” França said.
Again insisting on his dealings with Russia, he said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz should first be asked whether Germany is still buying Russian gas. Then he said, “I answer.”
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Associated Press writer Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.