South Africa should work more closely with the Latin American country and stop buying foreign arms, President Lula da Silva has said
© AP Photo/Luis Nova
[RT] Brazilian
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has called on fellow BRICS member
South Africa to boost defense cooperation and reduce their reliance on
foreign arms, warning that the two nations could be vulnerable to “invasion.”
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly labeled BRICS countries “anti-American,” although the group of emerging economies says it does not see itself as competing with or countering any other bloc.
Speaking
to reporters during a visit by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa
to Brasilia on Monday, Lula said the two countries need to prepare for
potential threats.
”I don't know if comrade Ramaphosa realizes that if we don’t prepare ourselves in terms of defense, one day someone will invade us,” he said.
Lula’s remarks come as US-Israeli
strikes on Iran, a fellow BRICS member, continue. Iranian media reported
that a new wave of attacks on Tehran on Tuesday killed at least 40
people, while officials say the overall death toll has surpassed 1,300,
most of them civilians.
Lula also urged closer defense industry
cooperation between Brazil and South Africa and called for reducing
reliance on foreign arms suppliers.
”We need to combine our potential and see what we can produce together, build together. We don’t need to keep buying from foreign arms suppliers,” he said.
Ramaphosa said Brazil was “much more advanced” than South Africa in defense and aviation.
”We have a lot to learn from each other and a lot to show as well,” he added.
Both
Lula and Ramaphosa have publicly condemned US and Israeli military
action against Iran, calling for an immediate ceasefire and a negotiated
resolution to the conflict.
Lula has also criticized US actions in Latin America, saying Washington crossed “an unacceptable line” with its attack on Venezuela to remove President Nicolas Maduro.
Regional
tensions are rising after American military strikes on alleged
drug‑trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean,
along with a US‑imposed oil blockade on Cuba. On Saturday, Trump offered
Latin American leaders US missile support to target top drug cartel
figures.
Founded in 2006 as a forum for major emerging economies,
BRICS now includes ten members – Brazil, China, India, Russia, South
Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.