From left to right, Latin America calls for end to Ukraine war at UN

Almost all Latin American presidents who spoke on Tuesday, September 20, at the UN General Assembly called for negotiations to end the conflict caused by Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, which has deepened the global food crisis, skyrocketed energy prices, and triggered inflation.

From President Jair Bolsonaro and Paraguay’s Mario Abdo Benítez, both right-wingers, to leftists Gustavo Petro (Colombia), Luis Alberto Arce (Bolivia), and Pedro Castillo (Peru), Latin American heads of state called for negotiations to end the conflict that, as French President Emmanuel Macron said, is “fracturing” the entire world.

“Immediate ceasefire” and “dialogue” were some of the requests and demands most heard at the UN tribune from the mouths of Latin American leaders, as well as criticism of the sanctions imposed by the international community to weaken Russian President Vladimir Putin’s determination to dominate Ukraine.

“These measures have damaged the recovery of the economy and affected human rights of vulnerable populations, including in countries in Europe itself,” Bolsonaro said before warning that “the stability, security, and prosperity of humanity are at serious risk if the conflict continues.”

Ukrainian Chancellor Dmytro Kuleba did not agree with these statements: “sanctions are not the cause of the problem,” he said, adding that the important thing is that Putin “does not get away with it.”

PETRO AND BORIC’S DEBUT

With Europe’s intention that Latin America joins its crusade against Russia, Colombian President Gustavo Petro called for “don’t pressure us to align ourselves on the war fields (…). Let the Slavic peoples talk among themselves.”

Like his Chilean colleague Gabriel Boric, Petro attended the world diplomatic forum for the first time. The young Chilean president called for all necessary steps to “stop Russia’s unjust war against Ukraine.”

“We have always advocated the peaceful settlement of any dispute,” said Argentine President Alberto Fernandez.

“It is imperative that all unleashed hostilities cease. Therefore, we need to work together to impose dialogue and restore peace in the dispute that began with the Russian Federation’s military advance on the territory of Ukraine.”

Adding to the dialogue option is Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, absent from this meeting, who on September 16 proposed the creation of a dialogue and peace commission composed of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pope Francis, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

According to López Obrador, the peaceful mission would seek an immediate ceasefire and the start of direct talks between the president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, who will attend the UN General Assembly by a video this Wednesday, and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, who is absent from the world meeting.

FRACTURE

The position of Latin America and other developing countries suffering the consequences of the conflict contrasts with the determination of Europeans and Americans, who spare no help for Ukraine to oust the Russian invaders.

In a fiery speech, Macron assured that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused a “return to imperialism.”

“Those who are silent now about this new imperialism are either secretly complicit in it or show a new form of cynicism that is breaking the global order, without which peace is not possible,” Macron said.

Westerners reacted indignantly on Tuesday to Moscow’s announcement to organize referendums in several regions under its control in the coming days.

The United States assured it “will never recognize” Russian annexations of Ukrainian territory, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the Russian project a “farce.

With information from AFP