'The war in Ukraine would not have happened' if Donald Trump was 'still in power,' says Jair Bolsonaro

As the October 30, Brazillian presidential runoff draws closer far-right incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro during an interview commented that if Donald Trump was still the US President he could've averted the Russia-Ukraine war that has been on for more than seven months now.

Speaking to the news magazine Veja, Bolsonaro also said that he had a good in-person meeting with Trump's successor Joe Biden. However, he asserted that if his close ally Trump was still in office, many issues currently bedevilling the world could've been avoided.

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"Some think that the war in Ukraine would not have happened if he were still in power," he said adding, "I agree with that."

However, he failed to elaborate on how the former President would have done so.

As per Reuters the remarks could add to tensions with Washington and are sure to rile the white house.

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Recently, Trump also endorsed fellow right-wing populist Bolsonaro, calling him "one of the great presidents of any country in the world ... respected by everybody throughout the world."

Bolsonaro and Trump have long been allies, with the former an ardent admirer of the latter. Even when Trump saw his international popularity fall after the fallout of the 2020 US election, Jair Bolsonaro remained a fan. He was also among the last world leaders to recognise Joe Biden's victory, echoing Trump's US electoral fraud allegations till the end.

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Bolsonaro is also prone to alleging electoral fraud in his home country. There are fears that if Bolsonaro's rival leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were to overtake him, the right-wing leader might take a leaf out of Trump's book and refuse to accept the result.

While talking to Veja he once again kept up his unfounded questioning of Brazil's electronic voting system, while declining to give a clear answer on whether he would accept the results if he lost in the second round. 

"There's a feeling in public opinion that there was something dodgy," he said adding "I'm always worried."

(With inputs from agencies)

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