Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dimitro Kuleba has urged Latin American leaders who are not confident of Ukrainian victory to be «smarter» in positioning themselves regarding the war, because when Kiev wins they will find themselves in «a particular position.»
During a meeting with the media of the Inter-American Press Association, Kuleba acknowledged that Ukraine plans to boost its relations with the region and work on strengthening political, social and economic ties with Latin America by 2023.
At this point, he stressed the importance that not only the Western powers support Ukraine, but also the countries of the American continent, at which point he appealed to those leaders of the region who have taken a low profile with respect to the Russian invasion.
«There are many forms of neutrality», said Kuleba, who explained that there are countries that do not consider themselves neutral because they want to maintain «good relations» with Kiev and Moscow; there are those who condemn the invasion, but refuse to supply arms; and those who «do nothing».
«When a country does not openly condemn the Russian invasion, the biggest act of aggression of the 21st century, they are choosing the wrong side (…) they agree with the forcible violation of borders, and that another country can be invaded,» the Ukrainian diplomat stressed.
During the question and answer session at the meeting with the media, Kuleba insisted that Ukraine respects, but does not share, the decision of those who do not want to supply arms to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, although he reproached that this decision, justified in some cases with the argument of «not fueling the war», is a position that «does not fit the reality».
«If they do not want to send weapons because it fuels the war, fine, but they have to know the consequences (…) Those who do not help with weapons, really what they are saying is that they do not want Ukraine to fight. What they are really saying is that Ukrainians will die and lose their sovereignty and independence,» he reproached.
SYMBOLIC VALUE OF THE POPE’S VISIT On the other hand, Kuleba has insisted on the importance of Pope Francis visiting Ukraine, as dozens of other world leaders have done, always under security conditions. «We have asked him for a visit many times, we are ready to guarantee his safety,» he has defended.
For the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Francis’ trip to Ukrainian territory would send a «message of unity» not only for Ukrainian Catholics, but also for all Christians in the world. «We pray to God that Francis will come to Ukraine (…) I am convinced that Orthodox Christians would welcome this visit,» he added.
At this point, Kuleba thanked the numerous appeals that Pope Francis has made to end the war in Ukraine, and has valued his «sympathy» with Ukraine and «support from a distance», although he stressed that «a visit is a visit», slipping that it would be a gesture of greater depth.
Finally, the Ukrainian minister acknowledged that the state of health of the pontiff could be a strong argument for delaying the visit to Ukraine, although he recalled that the Pope has made other trips abroad despite his condition. «The Pope is a very important figure (…) A visit is more important than a thousand words», he concluded.
«INEVITABLE» ACCESSION TO NATO Asked about the hypothetical accession of Ukraine to the Atlantic Alliance, Kuleba asserted that it will «inevitably» happen, although he acknowledged that he is not in a position to assess the timing of this process, since «it depends on many factors».
At this point, he insisted that Russia is falsely using Ukraine’s alleged rapprochement with NATO as an excuse to justify the invasion of February 2022, and recalled that the invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014 was carried out when Kiev was neither a member of the bloc nor was it planning to become one.
Regarding last year’s offensive, Kuleba has remarked that at that time Ukraine was also far from joining the Atlantic Alliance, «as far away as the Moon is from the Earth», as even NATO was not ready to take this step.
Therefore, the Ukrainian diplomatic representative concluded that the status of a neutral state in the duality of the Atlantic and Russian blocs is no guarantee of peace, referring at this point again to the aggressions committed by Russia in recent years. Thus, he stated that the best guarantee for not being attacked by Russia is to be a member of NATO.
To justify his argument, he referred to the applications submitted by Sweden and Finland – pending ratification only by the parliaments of Turkey and Hungary -, both Nordic countries that have understood that, according to him, the only way to get rid of a Russian offensive is to be a member of the Atlantic bloc.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
