Zelensky Asks Mexico to Help Organize Summit with Latin America

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Zelensky Asks Mexico to Help Organize Summit with Latin America

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gives a joint press conference with NATO head in Kyiv, on April 20, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gives a joint press conference with NATO head in Kyiv, on April 20, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

By Agence France-Presse (AFP)
April 21, 2023 8:47 AM

Mexico City, Mexico -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked Mexico for its support Thursday to organize a summit with Latin American countries to help end the Russian invasion, in a message to Mexican lawmakers.

"Ukraine has already proposed to the Latin American community to organize a special summit and show its unity and position on important global principles of territorial integrity, peace and respect between peoples," Zelensky said through an interpreter.

Mexico could help to make that happen more quickly, he said in the video address, during which he denounced the Russian invasion of his country.

The appeal follows a row over comments by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who said in China last week that Washington should stop "encouraging" the war, and that the United States and European Union "need to start talking about peace."

Lula also angered Ukraine by saying that it shared the blame for the conflict and suggesting it should agree to give up the Crimea peninsula, which Russia forcefully annexed in 2014 in a prelude to its invasion of Ukraine last year.

Zelensky addressed Mexico's lower house of Congress at the invitation of legislators belonging to a Mexico-Ukraine friendship group, some of whom visited the Ukrainian capital last year.

The Mexican government has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and on February 23 voted in favor of a United Nations resolution demanding the immediate withdrawal of Moscow's troops.

At the same time, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has refused to impose sanctions on Russia or send military aid to Ukraine, saying that his government seeks to promote dialogue to achieve peace.

Last September, Lopez Obrador proposed a peacemaking committee including Pope Francis, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but the idea failed to win significant support.