Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has decided to cancel his trip to Russia to attend the BRICS summit after doctors advised him to temporarily avoid long-haul flights due to a head injury that caused a mild brain hemorrhage. The accident occurred at his home, leaving him with head injuries and requiring hospital treatment, SCMP reported on October 21.
The Brazilian presidential office announced on October 20 that Lula, 78, would attend the BRICS summit via video conference instead of in person. He was originally scheduled to leave Brazil on the afternoon of October 20 to fly to Russia to attend the event.
In an interview with GloboNews television channel, Lula's personal physician, Roberto Kalil, said the president suffered a serious injury to the back of his head, had to have stitches, and suffered a small brain hemorrhage in the forehead-temporal area.
"Any brain hemorrhage can theoretically get worse in the following days, so monitoring is very important," said Dr. Kalil.
Although Mr Lula's health condition is stable and he is still able to perform daily tasks, the Sirio Libanes hospital in Brasilia has recommended that the president avoid long flights.
The medical report stated that he had a laceration to the back of his head (occipital region) and would need further tests this week to be safe.
The Brazilian government also said that Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira would lead the Brazilian delegation to Russia to attend the BRICS summit on behalf of Lula. Mr. Vieira departed on the afternoon of October 20.
BRICS, founded 15 years ago with the participation of major emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India, China, has expanded to include other countries such as South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The BRICS summit was supposed to be the first time President Lula met face-to-face with Russian President Vladimir Putin this year. The two leaders had a phone call in September to discuss a joint Brazilian-Chinese proposal to end the conflict in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Mr Putin did not attend the BRICS summit in South Africa in 2023 due to the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing an arrest warrant for him over his alleged involvement in the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.
