South American Trade Bloc Rejects Zelensky Speech

ASUNCION – The South American trading bloc, Mercosur, refuses the President’s request Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to address the summit. This was revealed by the host country of the meeting Paraguay .

Paraguay’s deputy foreign minister, Raul Cano, said Mercosur, whose members consist of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, failed to reach an agreement on whether to invite the Ukrainian leader. He declined to name countries that opposed the move.

“There is no consensus on such communication, that’s why Ukrainian partners have been informed that under current circumstances there are no conditions that would allow talking to the Ukrainian president in Mercosur format,” Cano explained as quoted from Russia TodayThursday (21/7/2022).

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Earlier this month Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Julio Cesar Arriola said Zelensky had spoken to Mario Abdo Benitez, the country’s president, on the phone and asked for an opportunity to address the upcoming Mercosur summit. According to Arriola, Benitez promised to discuss the matter with his colleagues in the bloc.

Mercosur is an economic and political organization founded in 1991 to create a common market and promote development in South America.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, Zelensky has spoken in many national parliaments and major international forums, including NATO, the G7 and the United Nations in an effort to garner support from countries for the Kiev cause and help him counter the Moscow offensive.

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However, in late June, when the Ukrainian president took part in a virtual meeting with the African Union, only a handful of leaders reportedly listened to his speech. After the conference call, President of Senegal and Chair of the African Union, Macky Sall, indicated that Africa’s neutral position on the conflict in Ukraine remained unchanged.

(ian)

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