UPDATE - EU Condemns Violence In Brasilia, Declares Full Support For President Lula

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th January, 2023) The European Union has expressed support for Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva amid unrest in Brazil's capital, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

Protesters temporarily seized the National Congress building, as well as Palacio do Planalto, one of the official palaces of the Presidency, and the Supreme Court building in the Brazilian capital on Sunday. Police managed to regain control of the buildings at around 4 p.m. local time on Sunday (19:00 GMT), according to Brazilian media reports.

"The EU condemns in the strongest terms the anti-democratic acts of violence that took place on Sunday, 8 January, in the heart of Brasilia's government quarter," Borrell said in a Sunday statement, adding that the "EU reiterates its full support to President Lula and to the Brazilian democratic system and expresses solidarity with the democratic institutions targeted by this attack."

Borrell said that political differences need to be resolved within Brazil's democratic institutions and not through violence and expressed confidence that Brazilian democracy will prevail.

"Brazilian political leaders, and especially former President Bolsonaro, need to act responsibly and urge their supporters to go home," Borrell said.

President of the European Council Charles Michel also condemned the Sunday unrest in Brasilia.

"My absolute condemnation of the assault on the democratic institutions of Brazil. Full support for President Lula Da Silva, democratically elected by millions of Brazilians through fair and free elections," Charles Michel said on Twitter.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Twitter that "what is happening in Brazil cannot leave us indifferent" and expressed solidarity with the Brazilian institutions.

Earlier, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that US President Joe Biden was closely following the situation in Brazil, and that Washington condemned the Sunday violence. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed support for Lula in a Twitter post.

Lula has called the attacks on government buildings in Brasilia barbaric and ordered the use of federal forces to restore order in the capital. The federal intervention in Brazil's Federal District will last until January 31, according to Lula's decree that was read out by him on Sunday from Sao Paulo.

On January 1, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in and started his third term as president of Brazil. He won the presidential election in the runoff on October 30, defeating Bolsonaro by a close margin, prompting countrywide protests from supporters of the former Brazilian president.