Ukraine hopes to win over LatAm through Spain's EU presidency
30/06/2023 17:03
MADRID, June 30 (Reuters) - Ukraine hopes to use Spain's
rotating EU presidency to try to "gain influence" in Latin
America, where several countries have opposed Kyiv's efforts to
retake territory occupied by Russia, President Volodymyr
Zelenskiy told Spanish media.
Speaking on Friday on the eve of a visit by Spanish Prime
Minister Pedro Sanchez as he kicks off the six-month rotating
presidency, Zelenskiy said several unspecified countries had
blocked an invitation extended to him by Sanchez to take part in
an EU-Latin American summit in Brussels on July 17-18.
"We have a peace formula, and Pedro has supported us a lot.
He has a constant dialogue with Latin America and they listen to
him, it's a fact. But I'll say frankly that some Latin American
countries are blocking the decision and this invitation," he
said in remarks from Kyiv aired by state broadcaster TVE.
"I want them not only to join the peace formula, but to
stand against war," he added.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva irritated
Western countries earlier this year when he suggested the West
had been "encouraging" war by arming Ukraine.
In the interview, Zelenskiy also asked for a concrete plan
for his country to join NATO.
Ukraine has been working with allies to build broad
international support for a peace blueprint without territorial
compromises.
Senior officials from Ukraine, G7 countries, the EU and
nations such as Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and
Turkey met on Saturday in Denmark for talks on the concept, and
said they had made some progress, but any summit to endorse a
document was at least months away.
Ukrainian and Western officials aim to rally a broad
coalition behind the Kyiv government - including major countries
that have decided not to give Ukraine military aid or impose
sanctions on Russia - to increase diplomatic pressure on Moscow.
(Reporting by Emma Pinedo and David Latona, writing by Andrei
Khalip, Editing by Alistair Bell)
((emma.pinedo@thomsonreuters.com; +918 35 68 34;))