Spanish PM Will Ask Biden to Listen to China and Brazil on Ukraine

China and Brazil are pushing for a ceasefire

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will meet with President Biden in Washington on Friday and plans to urge the American leader to listen to China, Brazil, and other non-NATO countries on Ukraine, Reuters reported Thursday, citing a Spanish diplomatic source.

According to Reuters, Spain is aligned with the US on the war in Ukraine, but Sanchez will put himself forward as an intermediary due to his cordial relations with Beijing and Brasilia. The source said his message will be that the US should put greater weight on the opinion of non-NATO nations who have been impacted by the war in Ukraine.

Both China and Brazil have been calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine, while the US previously rejected a pause in fighting. The US also accused Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of “parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda” for saying the US was encouraging the war in Ukraine by pouring weapons into the country.

The US initially strongly rejected China’s push for a ceasefire, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying the world must “not be fooled” by China’s peace plan. But likely due to PR reasons, the US has cooled the rhetoric and said it welcomed a recent phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

During the call, Xi said China would continue to push for a ceasefire. Beijing announced it would send a special envoy to Ukraine to engage with all relevant parties to foster negotiations between the warring sides.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.