(Bloomberg) -- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro landed in the middle of a diplomatic whirlwind in Moscow for talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. But rather than adding his voice to those seeking to end the standoff over Ukraine, Bolsonaro is trying to put on a show for his domestic audience.

The visit by Bolsonaro, who will meet with Putin Wednesday, is part of an attempt to improve trade with a strategic partner. The Brazilian government says it is seeking to ease restrictions imposed by the Kremlin on exports of products that the Latin American agricultural powerhouse desperately needs: 85% of all fertilizers used in Brazil are imported, and 22% of them come from Russia.

Bolsonaro, who seeks re-election in October, has an interest in avoiding higher food costs that have helped to send inflation above 10% a year in Brazil. Rising prices coupled with an economic recession and his handling of the pandemic are all dragging on his popularity, with the latest opinion polls showing him losing the race to former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Yet the conservative president is also trying to show his local supporters that he retains some international prestige, according to Guilherme Casaroes, a political scientist based in Rio de Janeiro.

“After throwing Brazil into unprecedented global isolation, Bolsonaro is trying to change such perception before the election because he knows he’ll be criticized for that during the campaign,” said Casaroes, who’s also a professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, an independent think-tank. “Bolsonaro is seen as a toxic leader by many countries.” 

Asked about the timing of the visit, Brazil’s foreign ministry said the trip had been long planned but had to be rescheduled due to the pandemic. 

Bolsonaro isn’t the only Latin American leader cozying up to Russia: Argentina’s Alberto Fernandez visited Moscow earlier this month and Putin called Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega last month, congratulating him for his controversial re-election. 

Ignoring Warnings

Bolsonaro lost his most important international ally when Donald Trump’s term ended last year. While the U.S. has voiced concern over his plan to visit Russia during the Ukraine crisis, President Joe Biden hasn’t called his Brazilian counterpart even once since taking office. 

Bolsonaro was also advised by his diplomatic staff that the trip to Russia would come at an inopportune moment but refused to reschedule it, according to two officials familiar with the discussions. He was then asked to avoid mentioning the situation in Ukraine, the people added, asking for anonymity because the discussion isn’t public. 

After Russia, Bolsonaro travels to Hungary to meet Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a right-wing leader with whom he shares a similar ideological background. 

At home, Bolsonaro’s most ardent supporters are spinning his trip as a peace mission, with former Environment Minister Ricardo Salles tweeting, even before the meeting between the two leaders, that “Biden and the western world are thanking Bolsonaro for having convinced Putin to give up on the invasion” of Ukraine. 

Bolsonaro has said he won’t bring up Ukraine in conversations with Putin but will instead focus on trade relations. 

“The world has its problems,” he told supporters before boarding to Russia. “We want peace.”

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