US President Barack Obama wrote a letter to his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to express his concern about the situation in Iran and Honduras, officials said Wednesday.
The letter was sent Sunday, a day before Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Brazil on the first leg of a South American tour that will also take him to Bolivia and Venezuela.
While the government did not reveal details of the letter, Brazilian daily Folha de Sao Paulo reported Wednesday that Obama asked Lula to discuss with Ahmadinejad the issues of respect for human rights and cooperation with the International Atomic Energy
Agency.
"I think that President Lula will reply to the letter in a polite, appropriate way, showing his points of view and always stressing the chance for cooperation," said Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.
He said while Brazil and the United States disagree on matters of foreign policy, there were no tensions between them. "We must get used to disagreeing."
Brazil's outlook on international affairs is not necessarily the same as Washington's, Amorim said. "We are in different latitudes."
On Monday, Lula said Brazil recognizes "Iran's right to develop a nuclear programme for peaceful ends, with full respect for international agreements," and called on Ahmadinejad to pursue further talks "with the countries interested in finding a fair and
balanced solution to the Iranian nuclear question."
Regarding Honduras, Obama reportedly wrote that he stood by Washington's decision to back Sunday's election even without the reinstatement of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya.
According to the newspaper, Obama described the election as the best possible way to overcome the Honduran crisis and to secure a new start in Honduran politics.