Several diplomatic jets have arrived in Rio de Janeiro this week for a G20 preliminary meeting, attended by Foreign Ministers from the world’s leading countries.
Russia sent Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and a historic politician known for consistently defending the invasion of Ukraine since 2014. He arrived in Rio on board a Russian state Ilyushin IL-96 quadjet, which made stops in Cuba and Venezuela.
According to reports by our associated media in Brazil, Aeroin, after the G20 meeting scheduled for November in Rio, the Russian chancellor was planning to travel to Brasilia (in a route opposite to that of his American counterpart, Antony Blinken), to take advantage of his stay in Brazil and meet with President Lula.
However, this meeting was about to be canceled, as revealed by Valor Econômico magazine. The reason is related to the United States: being a key figure in the Russian government and a defender of the invasion, Lavrov is sanctioned by the Americans.
These sanctions include not only him as an individual but also companies that provide any type of service to him. Therefore, fuel suppliers servicing any aircraft used by Lavrov could be sanctioned and prohibited from doing business with the U.S., including American private companies.
Due to this fear, VIBRA, formerly known as BR Distribuidora and which was a division of Petrobras, refused to supply fuel to the IL-96 in Brasilia. The refueling of the Ilyushin in the Brazilian capital was necessary for it to fly non-stop to Casablanca, where it would be refueled again to reach Russia through new routes that avoid European airspace.
If VIBRA had supplied fuel to the IL-96, it could have been prevented from selling fuel to American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and United Airlines, which are the US airlines that regularly operate in Brazil.
The fuel company preferred not to comment on the matter and, according to the magazine, the supply for the departure from Rio to Morocco was secured by Jetfly Combustíveis.
To avoid canceling the meeting, the Brazilian government consulted the Brazilian Air Force about the availability of aviation kerosene (JETA1) at the Galeão Air Base, but the military reported that they did not have a sufficient quantity.
An alternative presented to Sergey Lavrov was to return to Rio for refueling before continuing to Morocco, which would mean a greater detour, a proposal that was rejected by the Russians. With no other options, it was agreed that the Russian minister would travel on a FAB jet to Brasilia on the flight that would take Mauro Vieira, from Itamaraty.
It is unclear if Vieira will accompany Lavrov on the return flight to Rio, where he is scheduled to depart on Friday with the IL-96 to Morocco. It is important to mention that this is not the first time Lavrov has visited Brazil or Brasilia after the war, but on his last visit, he only made a stop in the capital and it was not reported at the time if the aircraft was refueled.
The current case in Brasilia is very reminiscent of another: that of the Venezuelan Emtrasur Boeing 747-300, which was denied refueling in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil. The Jumbo was held in Buenos Aires until it was confiscated by the U.S. and recently transferred to Florida.
Boeing 747 Confiscation in Argentina: Airline Condemns Act as Theft of Legitimate Property
