Naharnet

Brazil Leader to Visit U.S. in June in Wake of Spy Row

U.S. President Barack Obama announced Saturday that Brazilian counterpart Dilma Rousseff will visit Washington on June 30, almost two years after she canceled a trip over a U.S. spying scandal.

Obama made the announcement during a bilateral meeting with Rousseff on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in Panama City.

She will be the first Brazilian leader to visit Washington in 20 years.

The invitation was made by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in a phone call last month.

The leftist Brazilian leader was originally scheduled to visit Washington in October 2013.

But she called off the trip after reports that U.S. intelligence agencies spied on the telephone calls of millions of Brazilians, including Rousseff herself and her advisors.

Obama dispatched Biden to Brazil several times to smooth things over, and the vice president attended Rousseff's inauguration earlier this year following her re-election.

Source: Agence France Presse


Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/175123