RIO DE JANEIRO, July 14. /TASS/. The growing instability in international relations is prompting Brazil to pay more attention to defense issues and the protection of its own sovereignty, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said.

"We don’t want war, but we want to build a country that would be well-prepared to defend its own sovereignty," he said while visiting the Institute of Aeronautics and Space in Sao Paulo.

He stressed that the defense of national security is not reduced to the protection of borders. It should also include the protection of strategic resources, such as oil and minerals.

"We have already held the first meeting to discuss the development of our defense industry. For a country like Brazil, it is simply unthinkable not to have the necessary defense capabilities," he added.

Brazilian lawmaker Julio Lopes told TASS earlier that his country should expand its defense cooperation with Russia to strengthen its national security. Among most promising cooperation areas he cited tank and missile production technologies.