Brazil's Lula heads for Middle East

SAO PAULO, Brazil, June 10 (UPI) -- Brazil's President said Tuesday he will visit the Middle East later this year and defended the creation of a Palestinian state.

The exact date for the president's trip was not given, though Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim is scheduled to head to the region later this month.

The announcement by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva comes on the same day the Lebanese prime minister -- in Brazil on an official visit -- endorsed Brazil's appointment to the U.N. Security Council as a permanent member.

Several of Brazil's neighbors have also endorsed its admittance to the council.

Since assuming office in January, Lula has played a much larger role in international affairs than his predecessor, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, playing a role in helping end the general strike in Venezuela and was an outspoken critic of the U.S. decision to invade Iraq without the permission of the Security Council.