PREVIEW: Brazil President Lula to travel to Middle East

Mar 13, 2010, 12:28 GMT

Brasilia - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will express his country's support for peace efforts in the Middle East when he travels to the region on Saturday.

Lula, who is to visit Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan, said Friday that the situation in the Middle East 'is more difficult by the day.'

'I am a man who was born in the politics of dialogue, I made it to my country's presidency through dialogue, I exercised my mandate through dialogue and I believe that, through dialogue, we will be able to solve all the conflicts that seem to be impossible to solve today,' Lula said.

The tour was scheduled late last year, when Lula hosted Israeli President Shimon Peres as well as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Presidential spokesman Marcelo Baumbach said Brazil seeks to contribute to talks towards finding 'a fair and lasting solution to the Palestinian situation, acknowledging the state of Israel's right to exist in peace and security.'

Lula also plans to promote humanitarian measures to alleviate conditions in the Gaza Strip, Baumbach said, adding that he would criticize Israel's announcement of expanding settlements on occupied land.

'Brazil will keep trying to contribute to the search for a solution to that conflict. Brazil has credentials to take part in that dialogue and will always seek to bring the parties closer to each other,' the spokesman said.

Iran's controversial nuclear programme is also likely to be discussed during the trip, Baumbach said. Lula hosted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in November, and plans to travel to Tehran on May 15.

'I want for Iran the same thing I want for Brazil: That it may use nuclear energy for peaceful ends. If Iran goes beyond that, we will not be able to agree with it,' Lula said earlier this month.

   'It is not prudent to put Iran with its back up against the wall,' Lula added.

Brazil, which currently holds a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, has refused to support the US proposal to impose more sanctions on Iran, arguing that 'there remains room for negotiations,' according to Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.

Ahmadinejad has also repeatedly denied the Holocaust and even said that Israel should be 'wiped off the map.'

'I told President Ahmadinejad that it is inconceivable to deny the Holocaust: It existed, it is engraved in the mind of humanity, and the fact that one has differences with the state of Israel does not need to lead him to deny or ignore history,' Lula said on the eve of his trip to the Middle East.

In Israel on Sunday, Lula is to meet Peres, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Tzipi Livni.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Lula is to visit the Palestinian territories, where he plans to meet Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayad, and take part in a tribute to late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Lula's visit ends Thursday in Jordan with a meeting with King Abdullah II. He will attend the closing session of the Brazil-Jordan business meeting, before returning to Brasilia.