RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Argentina and Brazil did not endorse the OAS statement condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
However, this puts the two largest South American countries in good company with other territorial giants. Indian and China are also going their own way.
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The statement was approved by 21 countries during an extraordinary meeting attended by Moscow and Kiev as permanent observers.
The letter states that the 21 countries “strongly condemn the illegal, unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and call for the immediate withdrawal of the military presence.”
It goes on to say that “Russia’s illegal recognition of Donetsk and Lugansk constitutes a violation of territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
“The military operation is “contrary to the peaceful settlement of disputes enshrined in international law and the UN Charter,” the document says.
The statement was supported by Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States and Venezuela (represented by a delegate from opposition leader Juan Guaidó).
Of these countries, neither Argentina nor Brazil joined the declaration. For his part, Brazil’s ambassador to the OAS, Otávio Brandelli, assured that he was participating in the discussion on the Russian invasion, but that the country also needed to be heard by Vladimir Putin.
Russia’s concerns should be taken into account “especially in terms of the balance of troops and strategic weapons in the European context,” he said. However, he said, this does not give the Russian Federation the right to use force and threaten the territorial integrity and sovereignty of another state.
On behalf of Argentina, María Cecilia Villagra read out a Foreign Ministry communiqué in which she “strongly rejected the use of armed force and deeply regretted the events in Ukraine.
Bolivia is another nearby country not mentioned in the letter. However, its ambassador to the organization, Héctor Enrique Arce, stated that “nothing, absolutely nothing, justifies any form of violence or aggression when it comes to the unfortunate loss of human life.”
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