Brazil opposes any sanctions over its oil imports, says president's special advisor

SAO PAULO, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Brazil firmly opposes economic sanctions imposed on it due to its trade relations with other countries, said a presidential advisor on Saturday.

"We are against economic sanctions in any case, except when authorized by the UN Security Council," Celso Amorim, special advisor to the president of Brazil, told CNN Brazil in response to the U.S. demand that Brazil stop importing oil from Russia.

U.S. lawmakers who met with Brazilian congressmen earlier this week urged Brazil to reduce or even halt its imports of Russian oil as part of negotiations for a 50 percent tariff reduction on Brazilian exports.

Amorim said Brazil would not accept U.S. conditions on its energy policy in order to reach a tariff agreement and opposed the use of economic leverage for geopolitical purposes. ■