Brazil's leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva accused US leader Donald Trump of wanting to "become emperor of the world" and urged him to respect the sovereignty of other countries, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
Post-war democracy has proven to be the best form of government in the last 70 years, Lula said in an interview with a local radio station, "but Trump acts as if he wants to become emperor of the world".
"He tries to interfere in all countries and in every public policy," the Brazilian leader added.
Lula's statement came after Trump sharply criticized his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. The Republican called the Ukrainian president a "dictator" and blamed him for the Russian invasion of his country.
Washington has irritated Kiev by entering into direct negotiations with Russia to end the war.
Lula did not give specific examples, but called on Trump to "realize that the sovereignty of each country must be respected".
The Brazilian president, who has not yet spoken to his American counterpart since the latter took office, reiterated that the United States is an important trading partner for Brazil and called for more gestures of "friendship" from Washington.
"We want this protectionism to stop", Lula said, referring to the tariffs imposed by the US on Brazilian goods such as steel.
Lula also commented in the interview on the accusations against his predecessor, conservative Jair Bolsonaro, of organizing an attempted coup in 2022. Lula said that if Bolsonaro is found guilty, he should be in prison, Reuters reported.
"The accusations are very serious", Lula said. "If proven, the only option is for him and everyone involved to be arrested. They will, of course, have the right to a defense, but if they are proven guilty, they must be convicted."
Yesterday, Brazilian prosecutors accused Bolsonaro of being at the heart of a "criminal organization" that aimed to overthrow the democratic system in Brazil after he lost the 2022 election to Lula, whom the conspirators planned to poison.
Bolsonaro rejected the accusations and described them as politically motivated.