RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – I am determined that Argentina must stop being so dependent on the Fund and the United States. It must open the way to other countries, and I think that Russia occupies a very important place.
With these words, President Alberto Fernández opened today his lunch with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which could be followed in the press room of the Kremlin.
However, in a joint conference held after the meeting, the Argentine president did not allude to the idea of reducing relations with the government of Joe Biden, but stressed his intention to increasingly strengthen ties with the Kremlin.
“We are taking a very important step for Argentina and Russia to double and deepen their relations,” Fernandez told Putin and a handful of journalists who were in the room but not allowed to ask questions, writes La Nacion newspaper.
For his part, the Russian president reviewed the issues discussed at the meeting, including investments in science and infrastructure, stressing, “I would like to point out that Argentina is one of Russia’s most important partners in Latin America and our countries are linked by good friendly relations. We are eager to deepen our cooperation and open up new areas of interaction.”
With that, Putin sided with Fernandez, who had earlier assured her during a face-to-face meeting at Government House, “I want you to be sure that I see a great opportunity for us to move forward. And I want you to know that in me you have a friend who wants to see how we can move forward together.”
The president arrived in Russia yesterday after a 16-hour flight from Buenos Aires, the first stop on his presidential tour that will also take him to China and Barbados.
He was received at the airport by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and Argentine Ambassador Eduardo Zuaín after 8 p.m. local time – 2 p.m. in Argentina.
This meeting raises expectations as it comes at an important time for both countries.
It takes place amid an extremely tense world situation caused by the conflict in Ukraine, with Washington and the European Union pushing for de-escalation and Putin, increasingly isolated, insisting that his security demands have been ignored.
With information from La Nacion