US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira held a brief conversation on the sidelines of a Group of 20 meeting and agreed to meet again within weeks, offering a possible opening for both countries to ease a growing diplomatic rift.
Mr Vieira attended the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta, which was hosted by Mr Rubio.
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The pair are expected to meet before the G20 leaders summit in Miami in December, according to a source familiar with the plans.
The proposed talks could mark an attempt to turn the page on tensions that intensified after the Trump administration revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador in Washington in August and approved a US visa for Flavio Bolsonaro after he lost the presidential election to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Brazil is expected to participate in the Miami gathering as an observer, he said.
Flavio Bolsonaro steps off a plane after arriving in Miami
Mr Rubio also rejected suggestions that the Trump administration helped Mr Bolsonaro travel to the United States.
Mr Bolsonaro arrived in Miami on Wednesday, one day after the State Department announced that he and his family would receive US visas.
“We didn’t facilitate anything,” Mr Rubio said.
“We had word that he had arrived in the United States. He had previously held a visa, and the president made a decision to allow him to enter the country,” Mr Rubio said, adding that the US government was not “involved directly in any of the moves that were made”.
‘Not politicising the issue’
A Brazilian official sought to play down tensions surrounding Brazil’s decision not to approve US President Donald Trump’s choice for ambassador in Brasilia, as well as Mr Lula’s victory in the 25 October runoff election.
“We’re clearly not politicising the issue, as we haven’t in other situations regarding Brazilian citizens who have fled to the US,” the Brazilian official said.
A US official and a person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Mr Trump currently has no plans to back Mr Bolsonaro’s political ambitions, despite allowing the Brazilian politician to enter the US.
Mr Rubio reiterated that the US government “was not involved directly in any of the moves” that preceded Mr Bolsonaro’s departure from Brazil earlier this week.
Mr Bolsonaro’s father, far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, remains imprisoned in Brazil after being accused of plotting a coup following his defeat in the 2022 re-election bid.
Additional reporting PA
