2023-07-18 20:46:31
The Russia’s war against Ukraine has become an element of discord at an international level. So much so that the governments of the European union and of the Community of States of Latin America and the Caribbean (CELAC) started this Monday and Tuesday in Brussels, during the first summit at the highest political level that they have held in eight years, in a arduous drafting negotiation to agree one declaration of minimums about Russian aggression in Ukraine. Finally, and with the only opposition of Nicaraguahave agreed on a text that confirms the “deep concern” about the “ongoing war against Ukraine” but without explicitly mentioning or condemning Russia.
Latin American countries, that at the start of the summit this Monday expressed their discomfort with the EU’s decision to include a reference to what is happening in Ukraine, they would have preferred to avoid entering into this difficult subject. Many prefer not to antagonize the Kremlin and simply did not consider it “useful” to address this matter in an appointment called to relaunch and revitalize relations after almost a decade of drought. For the European bloc, however, including a paragraph on the situation in Ukraine was a red line and “a matter of principle”, diplomatic sources explain, and until they have succeeded they have not left the table. The only Latin American country that has remained on the sidelines, as in the General Assembly of the UN, evidencing the loneliness of Moscow, has been Nicaragua.
“We express our deep concern about the ongoing war against Ukraine, which continues to cause immense human suffering and is exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy, limiting growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, increasing insecurity energy and food and raising the risks to financial stability”, reads the text which also reaffirms support for the grain export initiative and the efforts of the UN Secretary General, Anthony Guterresto extend the agreement on the export of Ukrainian grains through the Black Sea, which Russia decided to put an end to this past Monday.
Just and lasting peace
The declaration also emphasizes the need to achieve a “just and lasting peace”, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, and mentions several resolutions passed by the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations . “We reaffirm our commitment to the Charter of the United Nations and International Law, including the need to respect the sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of all nations. It is essential to defend International Law and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability”, they say.
The text therefore does not include an explicit condemnation of Russia, although diplomatic sources consider the mention a success because it talks about “war against Ukraine” and not “war in Ukraine”, something that was not evident at the beginning given that in the eyes of Latin Americans it was not the time or the place to fight for it. “This was a summit between the EU and CELAC aimed at generating political, economic and cultural links between Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean”, which “occurs in a scenario where there is a war unleashed by Russia” but “the vast majority of the CELAC countries condemn the Russian invasion at the United Nations”, recalled the president of Argentina, Alberto Fernandezin the final press conference denying that Latin America has any “resentment” to talk about Ukraine but admitting that “certainly” there is “some dissident voice”.
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“The important thing is that all the member states of the EU are aligned and all the countries of the Community of States of Latin America and the Caribbean as well, except Nicaragua”, summarized the president of France, Emmanuel Macron. “It is necessary to avoid dividing the world and this summit is an important contribution to greater unity”, he emphasized on his way out of the summit. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyenhe acknowledged that the European and Latin American leaders have discussed a lot but he emphasized that in the end “we all want this war to end” and that there is a “just and lasting peace” based on the “Charter of the United Nations”, he emphasized Von der Leyen, who described the summit as “excellent” and “fruitful” and warned that “in these times of great geopolitical change, friends must stay united”.
The final statement, which also asks the end of the US blockade of Cuba, mention the crises in Haiti and Venezuela and regrets the suffering committed as a result of the slave trade across the Atlantic, it has received the support of 32 of the 33 Latin Americans with the exception of Nicaragua which has only objected to the paragraph dedicated to Ukraine. Despite the tensions generated by Russia’s war against Ukraine, the European representatives left satisfied with a meeting that opens up a new working dynamic in relations with Latin America and the Caribbean. In fact, the two blocs will create a coordination mechanism and have committed to holding biannual summits.
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