On Monday, Lula and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro hit out at Washington’s sanctions against Venezuela, according to a report by Reuters news agency.
Lula called the US sanctions "extremely exaggerated" and criticized the United States for denying the legitimacy of fellow leftist Maduro.
The Brazilian president also said he had argued with the United States and people in Brazil's Social Democracy Party over President Maduro's legitimacy and the sanctions imposed on Venezuela.
"I think it is really absurd that they deny that Maduro is president of Venezuela," Lula said.
Maduro, for his part, said he hopes a regional South American summit in Brasilia will call for the removal of the unilateral sanctions imposed on his country.
The Venezuelan president also said his country wants to be part of the BRICS group of emerging major economies, which Lula said he would personally favor.
Maduro is on his first visit to Brazil since 2015, taking advantage of warmer relations before a group of 11 South American leaders meet in Brasilia on Tuesday.
Brazil's former hard-right President Jair Bolsonaro had banned Maduro from entering Brazil when he took office in 2019, a measure that Lula lifted when he returned to power this year.
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