“He has my phone number, I have his,” Lula says about Trump
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Monday (Oct. 27) that he and US President Donald Trump exchanged phone numbers in case difficulties arise in negotiations between the two countries.
“We established a rule where, whenever there is a problem, I will talk to him personally. He has my phone number and I have his,” Lula said in a brief conversation with the press as he left his hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Brazilian president’s statement was in response to President Donald Trump’s remarks after leaving Malaysia. According to Reuters, Trump said he had a “good meeting” with Lula, whom he described as “a very vigorous guy,” but did not guarantee an agreement with Brazil.
“I don’t know if anything’s going to happen, but we’ll see,” Trump told reporters who accompanied him on the presidential plane. According to Lula, this uncertainty is “obvious.” “A single conversation wouldn't be enough to solve the problems,” said the Brazilian president.
Lula also said that teams from both countries will continue to negotiate the end of surcharges on Brazilian products and the suspension of penalties imposed by the US government against some Supreme Court justices as well as Health Minister Alexandre Padilha and his family members.
“My team is top-notch. It includes Alckmin, Haddad, and Mauro Vieira. […] I delivered a document with what was said in our conversation, so it wasn’t just words. He has a document detailing what Brazil wants,” said the Brazilian president.
On Monday (27), Lula completed his fifth day of engagements in Southeast Asia. In Kuala Lumpur, he attended the opening of the 20th East Asia Summit and was welcomed at a gala dinner hosted by Malaysian President Anwar Ibrahim and First Lady Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
Since last Thursday, the president has been traveling through the region, making an official visit to Indonesia and participating in the 47th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Kuala Lumpur. The meeting with Trump took place during the summit.
