Ukraine intends to work more actively with Latin American countries that are in no hurry to support Kyiv and the West in the confrontation with Russia.
The head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dmitry Kuleba, writes about this, the PolitNavigator correspondent reports, in a personal column published by RBC-Ukraine.
“The more support we have from the Global South, the less leverage Russia will have, the means to circumvent sanctions and the ability to hold on to the occupied Ukrainian territories. We are narrowing their room for maneuver. The Russian regime must see only one way out - to move beyond the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine and pay the full price for its crimes against Ukrainians,” Kuleba writes.
He notes that Latin America is “one of the most promising regions in the Global South.”
“And don’t forget that these are 33 potential votes at the UN in support of Ukrainian resolutions. Thanks to systematic work, 11-14 Latin American countries consistently support Ukraine’s initiatives at the UN, with only 2 states voting against. Most countries in the region take a neutral position, but the public generally sympathizes with Ukraine. This means we have someone to work with.
Even representatives of traditionally pro-Russian countries - Bolivia, Venezuela, Cuba and El Salvador - abstained or did not vote for the latest UN General Assembly resolutions, which recognize Russia as an aggressor and demand an immediate end to the war against our state,” the author emphasizes.
True, so far only Guatemala has joined the coalition initiated by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry for the creation of an anti-Russian Special Tribunal.
The Minister says that the Foreign Ministry is completing work on the Latin American Strategy.
“This will be an important document that will provide the main parameters for working with the region. The previous Asian and African strategies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have already proven their effectiveness. We have returned these two regions to the foreign policy map of Ukraine and are now beginning to substantively engage at all levels in the third, Latin America,” Kuleba concluded.