Khaberni - The Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticized the United Nations and multilateral institutions on Saturday, deeming them "no longer functional" and failing to protect the victims of the war in Gaza.
Lula said to journalists after meeting with the Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim before a major regional summit where he is expected to meet U.S. President Donald Trump, "Who can accept the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip for so long?"
He added, "The multilateral institutions that were established to prevent such things no longer function, neither the Security Council nor the United Nations are fulfilling their roles."
Seemingly hinting at Trump, Lula said, "The conduct of a leader walking with his head held high is more important than a Nobel Prize," referencing the severe criticism White House directed at the Nobel Committee for ignoring the American president and instead awarding the peace prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
Trump is scheduled to witness the signing of a peace agreement between Thailand and Cambodia on Sunday, which he helped facilitate, before heading to South Korea for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of his Asian tour.
Lula's statements come at a time when relations between Washington and Brazil are gradually improving after a long tension due to the trial of the former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, who was sentenced in September to 27 years in prison for his role in a failed coup attempt in 2022.
Trump had imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods and sanctions on senior officials, including a Supreme Court judge, protesting what he described as a "political witch hunt" against Bolsonaro.
However, a brief meeting between Trump and Lula on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last September, followed by a phone call between them on October 6, paved the way for a possible meeting between them during the ASEAN summit.
