<span style="color: #222222;">The White House has sharply criticised Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for accusing the United States of encouraging the war in Ukraine. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby accused Lula of parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Lula, who has pitched himself as a broker for peace talks to end the conflict, said over the weekend that the United States needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace. MR LULA'S  comments came after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping. China published a peace plan in February that does not explicitly call for Russia to leave Ukraine.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Visiting Brazil, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Lula and thanked Brazil for its efforts. Mr. Lavrov, who visited Brasilia on Monday, said that Moscow was "grateful to our Brazilian friends for their clear understanding of the genesis of the situation".</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">In response to Mr. Kirby's statement, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said that he does not know why he reached that conclusion but we do not agree at all. Brazil has not joined Western countries in imposing sanctions on Russia and has refused requests to supply ammunition to Ukraine.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">While Brazil is calling for peace talks, Ukraine and its allies say an immediate ceasefire would allow Russia to keep hold of territory it illegally obtained through force.</span><br />