Brazil as Middle East peace broker?

Brazil as Middle East peace broker?

There are some interesting diplomatic dynamics from Brazil in relation to the Middle East, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and relations between Iran and the United States.

Consider these travel schedules:

ISRAEL: President Shimon Peres visited Brazil last week – Nov. 10 through 15 – making stops in Brasilia, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Peres’ visit marked the first time an Israeli head of state visited Brazil since Zalman Shazar did so in July 1966. (The visit barely registered on international radar screens, or in Brazil for that matter, as on Peres' first night in Brazil the country saw a nationwide power outage that cut electricity to nearly 90 million people.)

Nevertheless, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met with Peres in Brasila. Afterwards the foreign ministry sent out a press release trumpeting the fact both countries signed a cinematography co-production agreement.

Not exactly the stuff of dramatic 'war versus peace' diplomacy. But Peres and Lula likely talked about a lot more than Hollywood or Bollywood. They presumably spoke about Brazil's potential role in peace in the Middle East.

"I understand (President Lula) introduced a program called 'Lights for All.'...Therefore, Mr. President, come and turn on the lights in the Middle East." - Israel's President Shimon Peres addressing  his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, during a joint press conference in Brazil.

PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is coming to Brazil to meet with Lula in the Brazilian city of Salvador this Friday (Nov 20).

And two days later…

IRAN: Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lands in Brazil for meetings with Lula on 23 of November.

This means that in the span of 13 days Peres, Abbas, and Ahmadinejad will have all come to Brazil to meet with Lula.

Let me say that again: Peres. Abbas. Ahmadinejad. All coming to Brazil in the span of about 2 weeks to meet with Lula. It strikes me as incredible on so many levels. So let's take a closer look at what's going on here.

Brazil as intermediary? The headline in Sunday’s O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper read “Brazil intends to intermediate dialogue between Tehran and Washington.” That might say it all.

Brazil appears to possibly want to actively offer itself up as a diplomatic intermediary, triangulating between Israel, the Palestinians and Iran. That is a big job, usually reserved for the heavyweights of the diplomatic world. And Tel Aviv, Tehran and Ramallah might as well be on another planet when it comes to Brazil’s traditional sphere of diplomatic influence. Maybe not anymore.

Something in the works? Nobody is pretending the recent talks were, or plan to be, particularly substantive (nothing against the fine folks who probably worked very hard to put together that cinematography co-production agreement). Nobody is suggesting there was or will be any immediate, official, and binding mediation going on here between anybody.

But my hunch is that all parties involved are looking each other up and down to assess if Brazil can be trusted as a possible go-between on issues big or small. And perhaps, maybe, Lula will use all these meetings as an opportunity to answer the question if he wants to get himself deeply involved.

The Obama factor? There is strong speculation in Brazil that Obama’s first trip to South America as president will be to Brazil. And there is little doubt Obama looks to Brazil as the rising power that it rightfully has become.

The U.S. president has nominated the State Department’s top Latin America diplomat, Thomas Shannon, to become the American ambassador to Brazil. It was a move that reportedly thrilled Lula and the Brazilian diplomatic corp as a sign that Brazil was #1 on Obama’s South America agenda. And between Obama and Lula, there seems to be strong personal and genuine admiration between the two men.

So when Peres, Abbas and Ahmadinejad talk to Lula, they know they are speaking to a man who can call the White House and probably have the President pick up the phone in a hurry.

What’s it all mean? There are a lot of diplomatic undercurrents swirling right below the surface. Given all the above, you can connect the dots anyway you wish and come up with your own conclusions. But Brazil is, at minimum, expanding the sphere of countries it engages diplomatically, and maybe even going much, much further and jumping into a whole new realm of diplomacy as the Switzerland of South America.

Easy for Brazil when it comes to places like Honduras. But when it comes to the Middle East and U.S.-Iran relations, well, this isn't Tegucigalpa folks. Is this the right strategy for Brazil and could it work? Or is it a futile effort from a country like Brazil - entering the heavyweight fighting class of Middle East diplomacy and now punching above its weight class?