MOSCOW: Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called for like-minded nations to “join forces” against the “blackmail” of sanctions as the longtime diplomat continued his trip of Latin America.
Discussing war in Ukraine with his counterpart Yvan Gil in Caracas, Lavrov referred to allies Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua as nations “that select their own path.”
Russian Foreign Minister visits Latin America
He said all are like Moscow, the subject of harmful economic sanctions. The Russian diplomat said it is essential to join forces to counter the attempts of blackmail and illegal pressure from the West. He is on a week-long Latin American trip that started in Brazil.
He spoke as President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, under fire from the US for “parroting Chinese and Russian propaganda,” on Tuesday clearly condemned war in Ukraine.
Earlier, Lula insisted that while he “condemns war in Ukraine” it also defends “a negotiated political settlement to the crisis.”
On the war in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Minister said: “We will resolve the crisis” by upholding the principles of the UN’s charter on the “sovereign equity of nations.”
He will later visit Cuba, which is facing serious economic problems. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel visited Russia in November, where he also announced he had inked several deals concerning oil supplies to the island. However, fuel shortages still persist.
