Brazil-US ties see feeble thaw despite Lula's upbeat tone

25/09/2025

Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, speaks during a climate summit on Sept 24 at UN headquarters. (AP)

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 25, (Xinhua): Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva voiced optimism on Wednesday after a brief meeting with US President Donald Trump, even as ties between the two countries remain tense.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Lula said that he believed Trump was ill-informed about Brazil and that a meeting between the two heads of state would clear up any misunderstanding.

"Let's bring everything to the table -- everything that we think we should talk about," he said, adding that what is not discussable is Brazil's sovereignty and democracy, obviously referring to the sentencing of his immediate predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.

Trump, in his speech to the general debate of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, said that he had a brief exchange with Lula, and they agreed to meet next week. Trump said there was "chemistry" between him and Lula.

Amid growing tensions with the United States over new tariffs and digital regulations, Lula has recently rejected U.S. pressure over the conviction of Bolsonaro, saying Brazil "is not a banana republic" that bows to foreign interference.