Washington, 6/23/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - An easy-going atmosphere characterized the meeting on Friday between presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and George W. Bush at the White House. As the meeting began, the Brazilian president joked that "besides Carnival and soccer, Brazil had a lot of other marvelous things." Following the meeting, Lula said that he always believed in the possibility of improving Brazil-US relations.

According to Lula, since the meeting with Bush last December, he has felt that the two countries "can have very prolific relations." Lula concluded by saying that "Those relations must be based on sincerity and trust, not photo ops for the media." (AB)