Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday he expects to meet with French Prime Minister Francois Fillon as soon as possible to coordinate moves to persuade Israel to end its air raids on the Palestinian territory of Gaza.
Lula said in the northeast Brazilian city of Recife that he has requested an urgent meeting with Fillon through his Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, in order to mediate an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Lula also criticized the United Nations and the U.S. government for failing to stop the Israeli raids, which have killed hundreds of people, including many women and children.
He said the UN lacks "courage" to resolve the problem, and held Washington responsible for making the world body "ineffective."
"We, from Brazil, will work together with other countries to see if we can find a way to stop the killing, to stop the violence. It is impossible that only the U.S. can be in charge of negotiations.
"What the UN is proving is that it does not have the courage to make a decision and establish peace there. And it does not have the courage because the U.S. has the power to prevent it (from doing so)," Lula said.
He said because Israel will hold general elections in 2009, some politicians there could try to manipulate public opinion by launching attacks against the Palestinians.
"I am afraid that someone could do what (U.S. President) George W. Bush did in Iraq. He (Bush) had the perception that U.S. citizens were in favor (of the war), and made war, to win a second term in office," Lula said.
Source:Xinhua
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