![Blinken arrives in Brazil after Lula's Israel denunciation](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/38/9d/1c/Blinken-arrives-in-Brazil-after-Lul-725542.jpg)
-
Venezuela takes diplomatic jab at Brazil in spat over election
-
Multiple people shot along highway in US state of Kentucky
-
'Super proud' Sabalenka downs Pegula to win US Open thriller
-
In Papua New Guinea, Pope holds mass 'at the edge of the world'
-
Hewett stays positive for wheelchair tennis despite agonising defeat
-
Three things on US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka
-
Sabalenka downs Pegula to win US Open thriller
-
USA men land Paralympic basketball three-peat, Jiang takes 7th swim gold
-
USA slump to first home defeat against Canada in 67 years
-
Argentina hand Australia record 67-27 loss in Rugby Championship
-
England impress on Carsley bow, Germany, Dutch hit five
-
AFP photographer wins top prize for Gaza coverage
-
No Love for Packers for three weeks after ligament sprain: reports
-
Pedro Almodovar: chronicler of modern Spain crowned in Venice
-
Almodovar wins top Venice prize for end-of-life film
-
Trump sounds dark tone at rally, Harris 'ready' for debate
-
Wirtz and Musiala dazzle to kick-start new Germany era
-
Chinese teenager takes 7th gold of Paris Paralympics
-
England interim boss Carsley 'respects' divided opinions over anthem
-
Neuville moves to the front in the Acropolis Rally
-
Garfield, Pugh charm Toronto in new romance 'We Live in Time'
-
21 boys confirmed dead in Kenya school inferno
-
Over 100,000 protest in France against new prime minister
-
Golden 30 minutes takes China to swimming Paralympics swimming domination
-
Green leads Australia to T20 series sweep of Scotland
-
Nigeria, Cameroon win afer chaotic AFCON build-ups
-
Nicole Kidman: A-lister, cinematic chameleon, wins in Venice
-
'I had to prove myself', says Kolisi after win against All Blacks
-
Almodovar wins top prize at Venice film festival
-
Grealish savours England redemption after 'worst summer'
-
Carsley makes flying start as England interim boss in win over Ireland
-
Springboks close on Rugby Championship with storming win over All Blacks
-
Sri Lanka's De Silva and Kamindu Mendis defy England in third Test
-
Farrell's Racing lose on opening day of Top 14
-
Ireland and UK to 'reset' relations as Starmer visits Dublin
-
Dunbar takes second Vuelta stage as Roglic closes in on victory
-
Fritz eyes US Open glory to end 21 years of American hurt
-
Thousands protest in France against new prime minister
-
Death toll from Kenya school blaze rises to 21
-
Brazil's right rallies for 'freedom' after X suspended
-
Trump to hold rally in swing state, Harris preps for debate
-
Stone at the double as Sri Lanka collapse against England in third Test
-
French tennis player takes legal action over online abuse
-
Italy backs Kyiv's 'legitimate defence' as Zelensky presses allies
-
The Body Shop rescued from administration after deal
-
Martin roars to victory in San Marino sprint, extends MotoGP lead
-
Smoke and screams: The horror of Kenya's school dorm inferno
-
MotoGP leader Martin roars to victory in San Marino sprint
-
Ireland and UK to 'reset' relations as Starmer begins Dublin visit
-
Ma Lin turns brutal encounter with bear into glorious Paralympic career
![Blinken arrives in Brazil after Lula's Israel denunciation](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/38/9d/1c/Blinken-arrives-in-Brazil-after-Lul-725542.jpg)
Blinken arrives in Brazil after Lula's Israel denunciation
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Brazil on Tuesday for his first trip to the South American nation, arriving amid a diplomatic spat after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva enraged Washington ally Israel by comparing its Gaza campaign to the Holocaust.
Blinken will start his visit in Brasilia, and also go to Rio de Janeiro for a Group of 20 summit, followed by a stop in Argentina, where he will confer with the new President Javier Milei.
For the top US diplomat, the belated first trip to the Latin American powers had been seen as an opportunity to build ties with two key leaders, in a break from his exhaustive trips to the Middle East.
But the turmoil engulfing that region has unexpectedly followed him.
Over the weekend, the 78-year-old veteran leftist Lula, on a trip to Ethiopia for an African Union summit, said that what was happening in the Gaza Strip "isn't a war, it's a genocide."
"What's happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people hasn't happened at any other moment in history. Actually, it has happened: when Hitler decided to kill the Jews," Lula said.
He received backing Tuesday from the presidents of Colombia and Bolivia, two fellow South American countries to have criticized Israel.
The comparison outraged Israel, which declared Lula persona non grata and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Brazilian president had "crossed a red line."
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said of Lula's remarks, "Obviously we disagree with those comments."
"We have been quite clear that we do not believe that genocide has occurred in Gaza," Miller told reporters Tuesday.
In tit-for-tat escalation, Brazil and Israel have each summoned the other's ambassador, with Brazil recalling its envoy for consultations. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called Lula's comparisons "delusional," and was himself called a liar by his Brazilian counterpart.
The war started October 7, when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack that left about 1,160 people dead in southern Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Hamas militants also took about 250 hostages -- 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 30 presumed dead, according to Israel.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed more than 29,092 people, mostly women and children, according to the latest count by the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
President Joe Biden has been Israel's key backer, with the United States on Tuesday again vetoing a ceasefire call at the Security Council, even as Biden voices concern over the toll on civilians and presses Israel to let in more aid.
- Outspoken Brazilian leaders -
The potentially awkward encounter with Lula comes after hopes of a new start in US-Brazil relations.
Blinken's first trip as secretary of state to Brazil comes more than three years into his tenure, an unusually long wait to visit the Western Hemisphere's second most populous nation.
But the Biden administration had limited interest in dealing with Lula's predecessor, the far-right Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of former president Donald Trump who similarly scoffed at climate action and is under investigation for an alleged attempt to overturn a democratic election.
Lula, who previously served as president from 2003 to 2010, traveled to Washington and met with Biden after returning to power early last year.
The two veteran politicians found common cause on prioritizing climate change, labor rights and democratic values.
But Lula has already shown his divergence with the United States on the international stage with his stance on Ukraine.
He has charged that both Ukraine and its Western backers bear partial responsibility for the war, not just Russia, which invaded almost exactly two years ago.
The G20 meeting of foreign ministers in Rio de Janeiro will also mark a rare occasion since the war in which Blinken will be in the same room as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
At the last G20 foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi in March 2023, Blinken held his only one-on-one in-person meeting, albeit briefly, with Lavrov since the war.
No meeting has been announced in Rio, and Washington is moving to take more punitive steps toward Russia after the death in prison of Alexei Navalny, the top opponent of President Vladimir Putin.
Blinken will head after Rio to Argentina to see Milei, who took office in December on a libertarian, anti-establishment platform.
In a sharp contrast with Lula, Milei is one of the most vocal international supporters of Israel.
Milei has promised to move Argentina's embassy to Jerusalem, a step taken only by the United States and four small countries.
M.Furrer--BTB