German leader downplays the impact of remarks about Brazil after drawing strong criticism

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BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday downplayed the impact of remarks he made about Brazil that drew sharp criticism from officials there, and the German leader's spokesperson said he hadn't denigrated the South American country.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Belem's mayor, the governor of Para state and several lawmakers pushed back against comments Merz made last week following a Nov. 7 visit to Belem, the Brazilian city that is hosting this year's U.N. climate summit. Merz appeared to be trying to put into perspective complaints about the current situation in prosperous Germany, whose economy is struggling to generate growth, in a speech to a trade conference in Berlin.

“We live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Last week I asked some journalists who were with me in Brazil: Which of you would like to stay here? No one raised their hand,” Merz said. “They were all happy that, above all, we returned from this place to Germany in the night from Friday to Saturday.”

Merz met Lula in Belem and will see him again at the Group of 20 summit in South Africa this weekend. “I expect that we will have another good meeting in South Africa, completely unencumbered” by the flap, he told reporters at a news conference in Berlin with his Swedish counterpart.

“I said that Germany is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and President Lula will probably also accept that,” he added, without directly addressing a question as to whether he regretted his remarks.

Earlier Wednesday, Merz spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said that “it is far from the chancellor to comment in a derogatory way about Brazil.”

Kornelius said at a regular government news conference that Merz's impression of his trip had been “very positive” and “there is no doubt that Brazil is our most important partner geostrategically and economically in South America."

The disputed remark “essentially concerned the wish of the delegation to return home after a very tiring night flight and a long day in Belem,” he said. “When the chancellor says that we live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world, that doesn't mean other countries aren't also very beautiful.”

Asked whether Merz would apologize and whether he saw any damage to relations, Kornelius replied: “No, twice.”